The Death Club
by Zoram Selrof
Summary: Sequel to "The Devil Syndicate". This school year has flown off at top speed and our protagonists are on the verge of starting a well-earned summer vacation. But they will have to tackle the sudden menace of a mysterious terrorist group named the "Death Club". Yet, all is not as simple as it looks: other parties will work on the background and unearth locked away secrets...
1. Chapter 1: Crazy afternoon

**The Death Club**

**By Zoram Selrof**

**Chapter 1: Crazy afternoon**

17:13 PM (Japan Time), Friday June the 17th, 2011…

"… Phew! Huff! This week's over at least! Next Tuesday… The last class and then… _Surprise_! Summer vacation!"

"Man. I'm so looking forward to it."

"You two are very alike, Netto – kun and Hiro – kun."

"Well… We're cool guys, so… Right, Hiro?"

"Yeah. Akashi Hiro's a cool guy, yessir, cooler than Major Ocelot."

"Major Ocelot…?"

"Ocelot? Is that eatable?"

"Dekao – kun…"

"Yikes! Sorry, Meiru! I didn't want to annoy ya!"

"Cha are sillier than a cow! Hah!"

"Yaito – chan…"

Hikari Netto was walking down a corridor which led into the entrance lockers of a school along with his brother, Saito: he was two or three centimeters taller than Netto and his brown hair was more neatly combed and arranged than Netto's: his eyes' irises were green emerald.

"Major Ocelot is a guy, Dekao!"

"Well! I didn't hear the "major" part, Hiro! I only caught the "yamaneko" part!"

Akashi Hiro looked slightly over a meter and fifty tall: his hair's color was jet black and it was totally messy (similar to Netto's) while his eyes' irises were blue in coloring.

"Then cleanse your ears, Dekao."

Ooyama Dekao grumbled something under his breath while Sakurai Meiru looked unimpressed at his behavior, Ayanokouji Yaito had a smug smile and student Hikawa Tooru (brownish hair and eyes, a bit shorter than Netto and Hiro in height) rolled his eyes.

"And we're already 14 years old! 14! Sounds cool!" Netto grinned.

"Yeah. Cooler than Python's cooling abilities, maybe?" Hiro grinned.

"Python?" Dekao frowned.

"Well. A reptile which belongs to the suborder of snakes and looks like one… There are several species of it." Saito explained.

The group stopped in front of the lockers and each opened theirs to change their shoes and pick up their Link PETs: Netto simply placed his on the arm-strap without checking it out and Saito did the same with his (green and white colored).

"Yo! Delta! Any new mail?"

"There's one from someone named "Mars Warrior"… And it's labeled "URGENT AND PERSONAL", too… But I don't know anyone with such a name, either…"

Hiro's Link PET was colored red and white and was decorated with the lowercase _delta_ character painted silver and set against a black background.

"I'll check it out. Any other news?"

"Not really…"

Delta's main body color was jet black.

His forearms, boots, shoulder plates, rear-pack and helmet used silver.

His face looked strikingly similar to Rock Man's although he had some slight differences regarding the eyes' irises (which were blue) and the shape of his cheek bones.

His emblem was the same _delta_ character set on his chest and ear-pads: the central part of his helmet had a murkier silver color to it plus two rectangles and one band cutting across it starting at the back: some jet black hair came out from behind the helmet as well.

Overall, he looked extremely similar to Rock Man and seemed to be around his height as well.

"Let's see… E~H?" Hiro uttered once he checked it out using.

"What's wrong?" Delta frowned.

"Delta… Are ya going out with Red Sword?"

"E~H? Me? Going out with Red Sword? No!"

"Eh… And I thought ya were waiting for me to make a move… Or did he attract you with his leech style?" Hiro teased.

"B-but! What does the mail say?"

"Not say, but show… A photo of ya two going to the Densan Cyber City's newly inaugurated Navi Cinema…" Hiro grinned.

"No way!"

"… Oi, Hiro!" Dekao called out after he looked at his PET.

"What? Gorilla Man ran out of bananas? Tell him to go compete with Donkey Kong for them." Hiro shrugged.

"No! Your little sister is dating my litter brother Chisao!"

"And what if my… Wait. Did you say my _little sister_?" Hiro absent-mindedly began to reply before gasping.

"Yeah! I said that!"

"I have no sisters and brothers!"

"HUH? Then who's this girl dating Chisao?"

"Someone of his class or a Photoshop edit: it has to be one or the other by force."

"NO WAY!" Yaito yelped.

"What's wrong, Yaito – chan?" Meiru looked up from her PET.

"Listen! "Strawberry Milk Inc. with home office in Kyoto has been found guilty of having sub-contracted a manufacturing company in Taiwan which employed child labor: the UN is going to shut down the company and bring all implied ones into jury." … I'm gonna run out of strawberry milks, then! That'd be the end of the world for me!" Yaito exclaimed.

"… Somehow that reeks…" Saito looked skeptical.

"Huh? Mail… E~H? No way!" Netto checked his Link PET after it beeped and his jaw hit the floor.

"What?" Saito asked.

"Eh… There's a photo of Rock Man going out with Delta and Red Sword and a heading underneath it which reads "triple affair between two Net Saviors and the leader of the Hunters' Guild: exclusive news!" … But that can't be!" Netto exclaimed.

"Can't be. This is someone's idea of a joke using Photoshop." Saito looked annoyed.

"This has to be it, too! I got a photo of Roll dragging Rock Man along to shopping in an expensive cyber store and having him try on a white groom's suit! And she then tries on a bride's suit… But I'm sure Roll would never go to such stores!" Meiru exclaimed.

"By all the…!" Roll looked annoyed at the setup.

"And here's a photo of Ice Man going out in a date with a Navi named Bubble Man…" Tooru grumbled.

"I know no Bubble Man, desu!" Ice Man protested.

"Bubble Man? The surviving WWW Navi? That guy's a moron who's unable to do anything serious: Red Sword, Forte, Zero and the others told me plenty of stuff 'bout him." Hiro shrugged.

"But… Who sends all these mails?" Saito brought up.

"This "Mars Warrior" character: whoever he may be!" Everyone immediately replied.

"Ahem, ahem… Attention, please. They are about to dynamite this place so please evacuate in a calmly and ordered manner while not forgetting to call for the bomb disposal squad of the Navy SEALS…" A manly voice rang out through the speakers.

"The Navy SEALS…? But the Japanese police have their own bomb disposal squad…" Hiro frowned.

"KYA~H!"

"RA~H!"

A mass of students ran out without bothering to pick their PETs from the lockers or their shoes: Netto's group was dragged along and they suddenly found themselves in the middle of the street where they struggled to break out of the mass and reunite in front of Higureya.

"What the heck!" Netto cursed.

"Someone's placed dynamite in the building?" Saito gasped.

"Attention, please. The headmaster is about to attack to vice headmaster with Visigoth fury. Please call the riot squad police." The voice announced next.

"HUH? The headmaster is going to…?" Hiro looked baffled.

"Attention, please. The chemistry teacher is about to blow the school up: please call the police."

"The c-chemistry teacher…? Blow up the school…?" Meiru was taken aback.

"Attention, please. A fatty man with a moustache is about to send our school's top idol, Sakurai Meiru – sama, to the grave. Set up the "Protect Sakurai – sama Squad" if you may."

"E~H? A fatty man with a moustache is gonna…? Let them come! I'll make bits and bytes outta them!"

"Attention, please. Akashi Hiro – sama is about to lose his life in a silly accident: bring out the Copy Roid and let Delta escort him to safety to his village."

"Lose my life in a silly accident? No way!" Hiro gasped.

"Attention, please. Mt. Fuji is going to erupt today at 6 o'clock in the afternoon. Evacuate the immediate premises."

"Mt. Fuji is gonna wake up?" Tooru gasped.

"Attention, please. A great madame is approaching. There will be manslaughter and everyone will fall one after the other."

"A great madame…?" Yaito looked puzzled.

"That sounds unlikely, Yaito – sama…" Glyde ventured.

"Attention, please. Prophet Jeremy is resting on a watery grave by now: let us offer him the last of our admiration for his accurate prophecies which he recorded in his journal."

"Prophet Jeremy?" They wondered.

They then spotted police vans parking in front of the school: several riot squad members ran in accompanied by dogs and a crowd of curious (mainly the students who'd run out) began to form as the police formed a perimeter.

"… I'm innocent! I didn't intend to attack the vice-headmaster! That Arabian scimitar in my drawer is a collector's item I got from an auction 11 years ago!" The headmaster protested as he was led out.

"… Take your hands off me! That gunpowder wasn't there when today's chemistry class! Someone is trying to frame me!" The chemistry teacher growled.

"Inspector! We found genuine dynamite in the gym, the roof and the elevator's control room plus in the teachers' desks of all classrooms! We're trying to see if the dogs pick up more of it." One officer reported to a police inspector.

"Okay. Something's gone crazy." Saito muttered.

"Totally. But… Maybe the dynamite and the gunpowder are connected somehow? Both are explosives, after all…" Hiro suggested.

"B-B-B-Bertie~!" A voice boomed out of nowhere.

"… Is it me or do I recognize the voice behind that exaggerated Hokkaido dialect?" Saito looked suspicious.

"Beware! The chemistry teacher was trying to produce the elixir of eternal life for Clark Kent – sama~!" The voice announced over the speakers.

"WHAT?" The chemistry teacher roared.

"It's useless to play innocent, Moriarty! I, Holmes, have uncovered each and everyone one of your tricks!" The voice claimed.

"I am not Moriarty~!" The chemistry teacher protested.

"I thought everyone had been evacuated?" The inspector asked a member of the riot squad team.

"Strange… Team B! Check the broadcasting room!" The officer commanded over a walkie-talkie.

"Yes, sir! Wait a minute, sir… There is no – one, sir. Yet the equipment is working, so… Maybe there's a Net Navi inside?"

"Send some police Navis to ID that Navi!"

"Roger, sir!"

"… Lieutenant, sir! There's a problem, sir!" A Navi reported.

"What now?"

"Well, sir… ALL Warp Points are labeled "BROADCASTING ROOM", sir! We don't know which one we have to pick, sir!"

"How's that possible?"

"Blame my hacker skills. Soon this world shall be plunged into fear and terror by the hand of the _Death Club_!" The voice announced.

"_Death Club_?" Everyone wondered.

"Heh, heh, heh… We've already started to move! We're not slow. Maybe you'll soon find you're missing a few guys out there?"

"What!" The inspector exclaimed.

"And it's too late to try to find me, too. I'm faster than these slow Navis uselessly wandering around the central hub… It was all so easy, really! Have the complicity of a real-world agent and you can do anything at all: I now see why terrorists have it so easy to target places… Security is so laughable, really!" The Navi kept on proclaiming.

"What's your name?" The inspector demanded.

"Mars Warrior. Maybe some have gotten a hold of some mails I came up with… I know April's Fool was way back in April, but I missed it 'cause I was so busy… Anyway… I'm off. Enjoy… While you can!"

"Wait! All Police Navis: watch all exits!"

"Roger!"

Silence built up as the inspector nervously glanced at his wristwatch and everyone seemed to wait for something.

"Boo."

An explosion suddenly rang out followed by the sounds of a shotgun and some other explosions before silence formed again.

"W-what was that?" The inspector gasped.

"We don't know, sir!" One of the riot squad reported over the walkie-talkie.

"Check on the Police Navis!"

"… They've all been brought down, sir!"

"What! All of them?"

"Correct, sir!"

"Is there anything else?"

"There are some puddles of a weird blue liquid which seems to generate static electricity somehow, as far as we can see through the PETs… We many need to pick it up and send it to the Science Labs for further analysis, though…" The member reported.

"Good! Send a squad to cleanse up and secure the area. And it'd seem we can release those two persons: we've been fooled by a terrorist who wanted to cause mass panic." The inspector added.

"I will protest to your superiors!" The headmaster threatened.

"I will, too!"

"Feel free to." The inspector shrugged.

"What do we do, sir?"

"Check that the school is secure once again and then we head back to HQ: there'll be a pretty heated up debate there, I'm afraid."

"Roger, sir! Move it!"

"… Whoa. Our school was targeted by terrorists, then? We can be lucky this guy was satisfied with just giving us a scare." Netto sighed in relief along with the others.

"Totally. Mama and Papa will freak out." Saito sighed as well.

"Zataki – san will start questioning all authorities as to how could someone sneak gunpowder and dynamite into a school unchecked and unquestioned." Hiro rolled his eyes.

"Let's try to submit this email address to the Science Labs, too, to see if they can figure out something from it." Delta suggested.

"Good idea… And we should look out for news related to this "Death Club" terrorist group. All we know is that one of them is a Navi who's named Mars Warrior." Netto nodded in understanding.

"What people!" Meiru cursed.

"Yeah. Let's hope the authorities can do something about them before they turn deadlier." Roll sighed as well.

"Heh! Worry not! Ooyama Dekao – sama and Guts Man will sweep the floor with them on it! We have the "A" License, after all!" Dekao boasted as he held up his right fist.

"Ya don't. We know you failed the exam." Meiru shot back.

"Wha! How did ya know that?"

"I saw it, remember?" Tooru rolled his eyes.

"Crap!" Dekao gasped.

"Hah! Ookarada and Gorilla Man fail again!" Yaito grinned.

"I ain't Ookarada: I'm Ooyama!" He protested.

"Heh! Prove it to me." Yaito challenged.

"Che!" He looked elsewhere and played the offended.

"Let's get on the move already. It's 17:34 PM and our parents must be worried if they heard the scandal or the 17:30 news." Saito rallied as he cleared his throat.

"Yeah. See you around, guys."

"Hey. Let's be glad the bomber wasn't Fatman and his cologne-signed C4 bombs. He could've hid them in the ceiling of the girls' toilet for all we know, even." Hiro tried to shake off some tension.

"Then he had to be a rude pervert!" Both girls grumbled.

"Guess so…" Hiro shrugged.

"Come on, Hiro – kun… Let's not start with the _Metal Gear Solid_ references again…" Delta rolled his eyes.

Saito ignored their discussion and looked towards the school building while seemingly thinking.

_Who in the world are the "Death Club"…?_


	2. Chapter 2: Fright

**Chapter 2: Fright**

17:39 PM (Japan Time), Friday June the 17th…

"… We're home!"

"Oh! Thank goodness! You're safe!"

"Yeah, Mama… Somehow."

"What in the world happened?"

"Well…"

Netto and Saito got home and were greeted by Haruka, who looked pale and nervous, for once.

"Someone set up dynamite and gunpowder in the school but was "kind" enough to freak us out and make us run out of the building… And it'd seem it was a Net Navi working for some new terrorist band named _Death Club_…" Netto scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah. That's what transcended." Saito sighed.

"Thank goodness…! There was such an ongoing scandal that I thought something bad had actually happened…!" She sighed in relief.

"Papa will soon get extra work, I think. The Navi attacked the Police Navis and left some stuff behind which was sent to Science Labs to be analyzed to see what it is." Saito admitted.

"I see… So no – one got hurt?" Haruka asked.

"Not really. There may have been some pushing and stepping over others' feet but that's to be expected when a crowd flees… But that wasn't worrisome, either."

"What matters is that everyone is alright… I need… to calm down. I should sit down for a bit…"

Haruka sat down on the sofa and sighed in relief: Saito picked a glass of water and tossed an aspirin inside: he handed it to her and she slowly drank it up: some color got back into her.

"Take it easy, Mama. We know you were scared to death. Lie down for a while. We'll work on the homework." Netto told her.

"Y-yes, you're right… Ah…"

"You could try looking for a comedy show or something like that which will help you shake it off." Saito suggested.

"Good idea… Thank you."

The twins formed weak smiles and then headed upstairs into their own bedroom: they took off their backpacks and left them into the ground as they sat on their beds.

"What an afternoon!" Netto exclaimed.

"Yeah. I can't remember anything so maddening ever since the Gospel days… Speaking of which… We should try to meet with Obihiro – kun: his skills could help us look up info." Saito suggested.

"And another person we should contact is… Zarashe. I still don't know why he won't answer to any of my calls or emails: I know he's living in Kyoto but it isn't that hard to get there from here." Netto brought up next.

"He must be tormented by what happened in November…"

Netto's Link PET suddenly rang and he picked it up: Yuuichirou appeared on-screen while looking nervous.

"Netto! Saito! Are you alright? I just saw the news!"

"We are, Papa. No – one got hurt." Netto replied.

"Thank goodness!"

"Has the stuff to be analyzed gotten there yet?" Saito asked.

"Huh? Stuff to be analyzed?" Yuuichirou asked.

"Yeah. The Navi behind this attacked the Police Navis and brought the whole squad down while leaving traces of a strange bluish substance which seems to generate some kind of static electricity… They said they'd send it there for analysis." Saito told him.

"Hikari – hakase, do excuse me, but… Some gentlemen from the police are here claiming they bring some important material which has to be analyzed ASAP…" Meijin called out off-screen.

"Is that so, Meijin? Well then, lead them to the analysis lab. We'll begin the analysis." Yuuichirou ordered.

"Roger, sir."

"Well… It'd seem there's work to be done over here so we'll get down to business. Be careful, both of you." Yuuichirou told them.

"Okay!"

The communication ended so Netto placed the Link PET on the charger next to the computer: Saito did the same with his and then rummaged on his backpack to take the chemistry textbook out of it: he opened it and began to search for something.

"What are you hoping to find there?" Netto asked as he picked a magazine outta the bookcase.

"The description of the stuff is picking me. As far as I know, no liquids are capable of generating static electricity in their own even if they are in gel state." Saito replied.

"Good point." Netto realized.

"It might be a sub-product of the stuff being inside of the Cyber World to begin with but even so I doubt it. The description seems to say the liquid naturally generates the electricity." Saito argued next.

"O. K, Holmes. Go ahead." Netto joked.

"I get the irony." He drily replied.

"Heh, heh, heh! Saito – niisan is gonna be the Cyber Detective!"

"And you're gonna be the _manga _reviewer?" Saito countered.

"Who knows?" He teased.

Saito shrugged and kept on reading the textbook…

17:47 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So! Delta! Are ya gonna exclaim in awe upon receiving that heavily customized M1911A1 from EVA? Or are you rather gonna awe at the terrific nature of the Treading Behemoth AKA the Shagohod?"

"Come on, Hiro – kun… It ain't the time for jokes."

Hiro had gotten into his house's bedroom and was joking with Delta who didn't look amused at all.

"Heh, heh, heh. So? Are you gonna go date Red and come up with a triple adventure 'long with Rocky – chan?" He teased.

"JEEZ! Enough!" Delta grumbled.

"Heh, heh, heh… So? What do you think it was the connection between Volgin and Major Raikov?" Hiro asked with a grin.

"… I won't reply. It was quite obvious in the game. Now, don't you have something far more intelligent to do than troll me?" Delta asked as he fumed and looked fed up with the whole thing.

"I might, Watson."

"I give up! And I thought Omega's humor was impossible to the point that even Zero and Forte begin to think he's going overboard… You've gotta be picking bad habits from him!" Delta grumbled next.

"Heh, heh, heh. Forensics Inspector Delta strikes back."

"HUH? What has forensics have to do with this?"

"Dunno. Maybe I picked the title at random."

"Jeez. I'm off to go speak with Red Sword."

"Don't you mean let him teach you how it's done?" Hiro teased in a hushed conspiracy tone.

"No. And this argument's over. Later, Hiro – kun."

"Heh, heh, heh. I'm a genius, yessir!"

17:50 PM ((Japan Time)…

"… Whoa! What's all this stuff here? Hello~? Red? Cosmo Man? Cloud Man? Blizzard Man? Is anyone there~?"

"Delta – dono, sir! It's been a while, sir."

"Whoa! Red! Don't sneak on me from behind!"

"I apologize. It wasn't my intent, sir."

"Where are the others?"

"The others, sir…? Eh? Huh? W-what happened here?"

Delta had stepped into a square somewhere in the Cyber World only to find it filled with craters, burn marks, cracked ground panels and walls plus several pools of a ghostly bluish gel which were hissing and crackling plus producing bubbles on its surface and drawing nerve-like patterns over their surface which grew in thickness as they approached the outer edge: it gave off an eerie vibe.

"So, Red Sword… Any ideas?"

"Eh… It looks like there was a fight, sir…"

"Sure does!"

Red Sword had a wild flock of silver hair which came out from behind the helmet and covered all of his body's back.

His helmet's main color was blood red as well, yet the inner edges surrounding his thick red shades had a tint of purple to them: a purple band formed on the forehead and circled the whole diameter of it: two valley-shaped cavities had been inserted into the sides of it and they ended in golden circles: a "fin" sprouted from the top of the helmet thus giving it a menacing-like look.

His main "skin" color was black, yet his upper torso had red blood armor built over it: there were two black shapes drawn over the shoulders having a golden rim and a thin black line spread from the base of the neck to the lower edge of the armor.

An emblem with a black edge was set on the chest: it consisted of white and black halves split by a thunderbolt-shaped line: white was golden and silver was right.

The forearms were colored blood red and had two purple-colored parallel formations which originated at the sides of the emblem atop each hand's palm: they spread over the edge of the forearm while forming a pyramid-like shape.

His right forearm currently held a purple-colored Long Sword with a customized hilt.

The central body of the forearm was now colored metallic gray and had two purple circles colored yellow inside: a purplish-colored blade emerged around a cone-shaped purple-colored formation: the blade looked sharp and menacing for some reason or another.

His boots began slightly below the knee and had purple-colored diamond-like shapes which extended as high as the knee: they were colored blood red as well: the soils were colored purple, too.

"And this is the same stuff which was reported at our school a little while ago, too! It can't be a coincidence… Yet… There are no data remains or traces, so… It'd seem that no – one got deleted." Delta muttered as he looked around.

"But… What kind of Net Navi could it be, sir? Cosmo Man and the others were "Darkloids" of Nebula, sir… They wouldn't go down so easily in a battle, sir!" Red Sword argued.

"I know. And the level of damage to the square hints at heavy weaponry being used… Not even I could achieve this level of damage even if I went berserk." Delta pointed out next.

"True, sir. I couldn't do that either, sir."

"So? Why weren't you present?"

"Eh… Well, sir… I received an email from Forte, sir…"

"From Forte? What did he want?"

"He asked me to come ASAP to the Reverse Square… That was about 17:10 PM, sir… I found the road to be shut down given maintenance tasks by the admin, so all traffic was routed through the deepest level and I then had to start climbing up, sir… I reached the square at around 17:30 PM and found Forte but he checked the email address and we found out that someone had come up with a fake address, sir… I've rushed back here using the same route and have just gotten here, sir… Something has had to happen while I was away, sir." Red Sword explained.

"So! You've only been away for 40 minutes yet they had ample time to come here, fight the three guys, knock them out, and take them away elsewhere. We should try to look up the server to see if there's any record and ask if there were eyewitnesses but I rather doubt the last part. We did pick a website in Hamura because we wanted a discrete spot and not that much attention… And we Navis only need 7 minutes to travel between Akihara City and Hamura, so…" Delta muttered.

"Maybe they have an interest on their powerful body structure and the antibodies Delta – dono designed?" Red Sword suggested.

"Could be, yeah… Yet… They actually bothered to lure you away and I'm sure they purposely made you take that detour to stall for time. In normal circumstances, Reverse Square is just 12 minutes away." Delta replied as he frowned.

"Hmmm? What!" Red Sword suddenly gasped.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Delta asked.

"There, sir!"

Delta looked at the puddles and gasped: some of the gel was starting to "rise" and consolidate to give way to a figure which was being built: it eventually became a Garuu Virus totally made of the blue gel and having white eyes: it opened the mouth and shot raw gel at them which they barely dodged in time as it stained the ground where they had been standing at.

"H-how in the world did that gel create a Garuu?"

"I do not know, sir! Maybe it would be safe to take it down?" Red Sword suggested as he drew a Neo Variable Sword.

"Let's try attacking it from afar: I don't feel like stepping closer to those puddles." Delta replied.

"Roger, sir… Take this! Red Cannon!"

"Delta Buster!"

Red Sword transformed his right forearm into a cannon-like weapon and began to bombard the Garuu with red spheres of energy as Delta shot standard attacks at it to distract it and annoy it: the Garuu's eyes turned blood red and it suddenly _grew wings_ out of its central body: its claws turned larger and a row of sharp teeth formed inside of it: the altered Virus jumped into the air and dived for Red Sword: he jumped to the side and shot a shot at its main body: the sphere of energy actually glued to it and began to emit static electricity which electrocuted the Garuu: it suddenly broke down into raw gel and seemed to remain like that: both Red Sword and Delta stepped away from it and looked pale.

"WHAT was THAT?" Delta asked to no-one in particular.

"Note something, sir! The Virus _wasn't deleted_! It rather broke down into raw material, sir!" Red Sword added.

"What in the world's going on? First that terrorist group at our school, now this… Has everything gone crazy or what?" Delta hysterically wondered aloud.

"Heh, heh, heh. Maybe yes, maybe not." A voice rang out.

"Who goes there?" Red Sword demanded.

A Killer Eye Virus which was stained with the same gel flew down from above and started at them.

"Mars Warrior. Remember me?"

"You!" Delta grumbled.

"Yeah. Did ya like my little show?"

"That was a "little" show?" Delta demanded.

"Of course. It was to kill my boredom. I'm too hyperactive to stay put and patrol our hideout while _partner_ works on the gel."

"What's this gel?" Red Sword questioned.

"Name it "Omicron Factor"… And I'm sure the Science Labs will soon realize they're analyzing something which can _change the world_ yet _has its lethal effects_… Was that scary enough?"

"Totally." Delta drily shot back.

"My, my. What dryness to life ya guys have. Well, how about this? That Roll girl is gonna bring ya with her to the shopping mall and have ya be her "carrier boy"… Heh, heh, heh. Reverse." Mars Warrior chuckled.

"Me? Roll – chan's "carrier boy"…? Reverse…? Oi, by "reverse" you mustn't mean…" Delta seemed to guess something.

"Yeah. I mean that. I've experienced it. Refreshing. It's not that bad if that's what's needed to work together with my _aibou_, Miss Venus Warrior… By the way! Did ya know Venus was the one who can be blamed for the start of the Troy War? _Paris' Judgment_… Check it out, will ya?"

"Hmpf." Red Sword was unimpressed.

"Heh, heh, heh. Can you hear it? This rhythm? The pulsations of time! Can also be called life's pulsations, too! Isn't this sound nice? I loved roaming around clock-shops' counters ever since I was kid. People's lives are limited! Bombs engrave time, and bombs are the only ones which honestly tell you when the end has come! You lowlife… Glad ya made it on time. We're about to have a party…"

"That's part of Fatman's speech…" Delta looked unimpressed.

"Fatman, sir?"

"_Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty_… A mad bomber who went around placing C4 Bombs which he signed with cologne… That's his speech when he shows up to challenge the player…" Delta replied.

"Heh, heh, heh… _Laugh and grow fat_! See ya around!"

The Killer Eye shrieked and suddenly blew up: both ran out to avoid being sprayed by the raw gel while some laughter rang out.

"What a jerk!" Red Sword cursed.

"Totally. This is more dangerous than we though. We should have this place sealed and the stuff inside recollected to be analyzed. The Science Labs staff will groan at having to do extra hours." Delta suggested with a hint of sarcasm.

"Good idea, sir."

They both ran out and closed two large steel doors with the words "Hunter's Guild" written into them: Red Sword interacted with a holographic screen and changed the message to "ON A VACATION: WILL BE BACK SOON!" instead.

"Let's contact the authorities. I'll take care of that given how I am a Net Savior to begin with." Delta told him.

"What should I do, sir? Where do we start looking for some clues or hints, sir?"

"Contact the webmaster. Ask for any security footage."

"Roger, sir."

"Let's meet in a while."

"Alright. I'll do my best, sir."

Red Sword saluted and headed elsewhere while Delta joined a heavily – transited road and began to walk it down while looking at the ground and thinking.

_What in the world is that gel? Who are the "Death Club"? Mars Warrior? Venus Warrior? A _partner_…? Omicron Factor…? A gel which actually CREATES Viruses out of nothing? Alchemy? The Philosopher's Stone? And it can actually "change the world"…? Are we about to step into a chaotic era or what? I'm worried… _


	3. Chapter 3: 'Sapporo'

**Chapter 3: "Sapporo!"**

08: 58 AM (Japan Time), Saturday June the 18th…

"… Hikari – hakase. I apologize for my sudden unannounced visit so early on the morning, yet… I am under pressure."

"I understand, Commissioner Kifune."

"Do we have anything?"

"We have. But it's something which has a lot of implications and should be treated with the highest level of secrecy. Were word of this to be leaked, it'd be the California Gold Rush over again, more or less."

"Is that so?"

Yuuichirou was speaking with a man inside of the Science Labs' main reception hall: he looked on his fifties and had some patches of gray hair on his largely bald head as well as a moustache.

He didn't seem to be very tall but his body was a bit wider than the usual: he wore a green suit plus pants of the same color and sported brownish shoes.

"Please follow me." Yuuichirou requested.

They walked into his office and Yuuichirou offered him the armchair to sit into while he stood next to his computer and drank some hot coffee out of a plastic cup.

"To begin with… Please look at this footage. Delta and Red Sword submitted it around 18:20 PM yesterday. This took place roughly 30 minutes before." Yuuichirou began.

He replayed the battle against the "gel Garuu" and then the conversation with the "gel-stained Killer Eye" while Commissioner Kifune looked on in silence: the footage ended and Yuuichirou then brought up some charts which seemed to indicate something.

"A Virus formed out of nowhere… And which breaks down into raw material…" Kifune muttered.

"But that was the tip of the iceberg. Further analysis and experimentation on our own Viruses showed us alarming results. First of all… Have a look at these photos."

"By all the…!"

The photos displayed Mettools growing one arm, two or even four as well as replacing the feet by claws or their met-hats vanishing to give way to a crown of needles: fanged mouths forming into them and smaller predator-like eyes or even tails and wings.

"This gel… When in contact with a Virus over different amounts of times and dose or if it enters the Virus through cuts or wounds, lodges into the core program and begins messing with its data at random yet always following a series of steps: increase its power. Make it more powerful yet at the cost of its AI programming. Destroy or corrupt it. Make it into a mindless ravaging beast. Consume more and more gel. Evolve. Mutate. Grow stronger. Destroy anything in front of you. Their resistance and HP are altered by brutally high values. One of the most hard to take down ones reached the brutal number of 2948 HP out of 100 HP it originally had and its power stats increased: their normal attack would only take out 10 HP. Now it took out 444 HP." Yuuichirou detailed.

"By all the…! What a monstrosity!" Kifune was baffled by now.

"Yet… On other hand… When processed as if it was fuel, then it produces astonishingly high levels of energy. We tried shutting down electricity in some rather unused sectors of the Cyber World and use this as an energy source. The result? Just 23% of it was enough to feed the WHOLE Science Labs Cyber World with power. And given how we knew what our total electrical needs were… An entire can of about 3 liters of gel could easily power up the WHOLE Akihara City, the Metro Line and even 48% of Densan City!" Yuuichirou told him next.

"Just 3 liters and…! That scale is enormous!"

"Hence why I said that if this got leaked it'd be the California Gold Rush over again: a mad hunt to get their hands on this gel even if it was a few miserable centiliters would start..."

"I see…! Yet… How did it get there?"

"It's easily fitted into cans, bottles, grenades or missiles. The recording from the Police Navis shows grenades coming out of nowhere plus shotgun blasts. But that "nowhere" might be because the enemy had most likely concealed his presence to strike from unexpected directions, though…" Yuuichirou explained.

"I see… Yet… What effects does it have on Navis? Or maybe you haven't had time to try those?"

"We tried after we started looking up reports of missing Navis: 8 of them have vanished from Cyber City along with 3 of the "Hunter's Guild", so I'm afraid this "Death Club" is experimenting on them given how they are high battle potential Net Navis." Yuuichirou replied.

He typed into the PC and brought up photos of standard Navis having some armor over their bodies which looked like a solidified state of the gel given the coloring and the composition: some grew claws, other had mere teeth and no limbs, others grew tails or wings and others morphed into animal-like forms, too.

"Navis behave slightly different. The gel attaches to the core program and becomes the source of energy for them: they can somehow "access" it and expel it as attacks but a random period of time before they have to wait and access it again. They retain some level of intelligence yet they are always compelled to "spread the power" through some kind of ultra-sound signal which we haven't been able to ID yet. We _speculate_ that this signal might allow for some extent of live remote control." Yuuichirou explained next.

"So. They can be controlled, nevertheless… That's another dangerous aspect to it: were this to be leaked, too, someone could try to build a dangerous army of these dangerously hyper-powered Net Navis… Another motive to keep it under the strictest of wraps, too… Yet I don't like the idea of having to tell them the implications… Hmmm… Maybe I can down-tone them saying the gel was nothing more than spray paint. A false alarm set up by the terrorist… It could work." Kifune muttered.

"I believe that's a wise approach to the matter. I will destroy all records of this, too. Only 8 persons know of the implications of this, including me. We'll have to classify this. Society isn't ready for this. Wars could be fought over this. No. We'll destroy it: the good part it's that it's extremely flammable and burns quickly without leaving any traces like oil or gas. We'll send Navis to cleanse the site of the "Hunter's Guild" before the webmaster gets a hold of it: we already know no useful data regarding the abduction was left there." Yuuichirou listed next.

"Perfect. I will be going."

Commissioner Kifune came out of the office while Yuuichirou sat on his armchair and began to tap the armrests before starting to work with the computer.

"… One record. I'll leave just one. Netto and Saito deserve to be told of the danger. This is far deadlier this time around. That of two years ago when they stormed Kotobuki Town's Gospel HQ was dangerous, yet… You can't toy with this. It's like a time bomb which can come back on anytime it wants to…" He grimly muttered.

He then stopped and picked several documents: he stored them inside of a folder which he labeled "BUDGET DOCUMENTS" and inside of his safe before heading into another lab where Meijin was working with the computer: his Net Navi, Gate Man, was looking on.

"Meijin."

"Yes, Hikari – hakase?"

"Delete all records of the experiments and analysis. This has been labeled top-secret and no public records must remain. Make sure the very last byte of data is gone. No trace must be left and all samples of this "Omicron Factor" are to be destroyed." He commanded.

"Roger!"

"Count on us." Gate Man added.

"I leave this up to you."

09:11 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh… Puku! I dunno who that black guy was but he gave me a juicy reward for exclusively telling him a good place in which one could hide and come out without being too noticed… Puku… Heh, heh, heh. I'm saving this up for the day I find Brad Shad again, puku… And thanks to this… I'll beat him up, puku! Heh, heh, heh! Bubble Man – sama of the WWW is a genius, yessir! Puku!"

"I'd rather say he'll laugh at how you lowlife have been fooled by a mere imitation which does nothing."

"Wha! Puku! The leech punk!"

"Red Sword!"

Red Sword had crept into a small private Cyber World decorated with the "WWW" letters and with a water motif to find a small Net Navi who was muttering aloud.

"Yikes! Bubble Man doesn't know anything! Puku!"

Bubble Mean was a small Net Navi who was barely a meter and forty tall to begin with.

His face was surrounded by a blue helmet having ear-pads with twelve black dots drawn into their surface: a transparent green shade was set over his simple eyes and he had no nose: his face was rather child-like to begin with.

His main body was colored navy blue and short arms and legs emerged from it while his neck was so short that it was almost non-existent.

A small backpack which looked like two oxygen tanks was set on his back plus a lantern built over his head and connected to them.

His shoulders were colored in a deeper shade of blue and his short arms without elbows emerged from there: a sky blue rim marked the start of the forearm while the rest of its surface was colored navy blue: his fingers had orange "skin" and his emblem (three white bubbles of different size against a black background) was repeated over the palms.

His feet design included orange flipper-like shapes around the feet while the color pattern was the same as in the forearms.

His central body had nothing remarkable drawn or built over it save for the chest emblem and a sky blue rim around his neck.

Overall, he looked short and incompetent.

"Don't think I'm an imbecile. I heard you lowlife's talk."

"T-that was my alter ego, puku! _Sayonara_~!"

He tried to run off but Red Sword seized the tube connecting his backpack to the rear of his head and effortlessly lifted him off the ground while Bubble Man waved his arms and legs in vain: he turned him around and had him stare at his red shades while forming a grimace: Bubble Man turned white and his teeth began to dance.

"Who gave you lowlife that "Dark Chip"?"

"M-Mars Warrior, puku!"

"Describe him."

"Well… Meter and fifty, puku… Black armor, purple shades, puku… Carries a shotgun on his back, puku… Black hair comes out behind the helmet 'cause there's an opening there, puku… No dialect, puku… But he looked powerful, puku… He knew who I was, puku… He only wanted to know a place to hide, puku… Haven't seen him ever since 3 week ago, puku… I dunno where he came from, puku…" He confessed.

"Hmpf. And where did you lowlife send him to?" Red Sword questioned next.

"Puku! Sapporo, puku! There were plenty of places, puku, but I dunno the exact place, puku!" He admitted.

"Sapporo? In Hokkaido? Whatever. We'll find them. Now run for your miserable existence and dream in a useless manner 'cause that Dark Chip is fake." Red Sword scoffed.

"PUKU~!"

09:15 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Eh… Delta – dono, sir?"

"Red. What did you find out?"

"I found Bubble Man, sir, and he confessed. They're somewhere in Sapporo but he didn't know the exact place. But I have a description of Mars Warrior, though, sir."

"Good job."

"Yo! How many guards did you put to sleep, Red?"

"Come on, Hiro – kun! Let's not go over that again."

"Dunno, Akashi. Maybe 20."

Red had come into Delta's Link PET to report and Hiro began joking with him: Delta fumed while Red formed a smug smile, for once.

"Heh, heh, heh. See, Delta? It ain't that bad."

"He's playing along. Red… Why can't you try to have some more criteria of your own?" Delta sighed.

"I do not know, sir." He shrugged.

"Great. Well? Whaddya plan on doing now, Hiro – kun?"

"Wait a sec!" Hiro grinned.

The holographic screen was suddenly shut down: there was the feeling of movement, and, when it opened again, the camera showed the mirror's reflection of Hiro holding the PET over his head and being dressed in nothing more than black briefs and socks: Delta blushed and Red Sword looked amused.

"Heh, heh, heh. Gotcha! Do I look manly enough to be your lover by now or ya planning to wait until I turn 14?" He teased.

"JEEZ!" Delta protested.

Red Sword chuckled, Hiro giggled and Delta fumed…

09:18 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmmm… _Paella_… Hmmm… Yummy…"

"Paella Man has descended! Present… arms!"

"R-roger! Whoa!"

THUD!

"A~w…"

"Good reflexes, Netto – kun!"

"What "good reflexes"…? Ya tricked me, Saito – niisan!"

"All fair's when it comes to waking ya up. We'd agreed to meet with Hiro and we're gonna be late at this rate."

"Wha!"

Netto had been snoring and tossing around on his bed while seemingly dreaming of _paella_ when Saito (dressed with a blue sleeveless vest, a white shirt, jeans and bluish socks) came up with a trick to wake him up: Netto had distractedly stuck his right arm and leg towards the air and lost balance to then fall into the ground: Saito joked while Netto rubbed the back of his head before gasping.

"Hurry up or I'll tickle ya~…" He teased.

Netto picked his street clothes (the orange sleeveless vest, the white shirt, and the grayish pants with the yellow stripes plus a pair of white boxers) before rushing towards the bathroom and shutting the door.

"Netto – kun! You're the Sleeping Prince, it'd seem." He joked aloud while barely holding his laughter back.

"I heard that, Saito – niisan!" Netto protested.

"But ain't that true, Netto – kun?"

"No! Not at all!"

"Admit it, Netto – kun!"

"I won't!"

"Oh? But maybe that's what everyone thinks of you?"

"Wha~t?" Netto yelped.

"Heh, heh, heh! That yelp was like music to my ears."

"Grfjtx!" Netto grumbled.

"Have you invented Alien Idiom?"

"No. Is that another of those glitches?" Netto questioned.

"Guess so! They're fun." Saito shrugged.

"Are ya sure Vadous – san didn't program those?"

"If you want to blame someone, blame Papa! He's the one who built up my processor. The "cybernetic brain" only runs my consciousness file as it is without any edits." Saito replied.

"He should've been more careful…! When ya have those glitches ya end up turning weird." Netto grumbled.

"So? About to put on the vest followed by the bandana by now, Netto – kun?" Saito deduced.

"Yeah. And I've locked it from the inside to be on the safe side. I don't wanna ya trying to drag me into an early-morning game."

"Not like I wanted to: we've got to meet with Hiro."

"And see if he has new info which we could mail to Denpa – san, I know the plan!" Netto replied.

"Beware. Planning Man is planning to make ya dance to the rhythm of a remixed _Imperial March_." Saito joked.

"Hah, hah! Very original." Netto drily shot back.

"Very innovative, I'd say."

"Whatever!"

Netto opened the door and came out: he placed the pajamas under his bed's cushion and began to arrange it back while constantly glancing at Saito, who folded his arms and leant on the back of a wall.

"Any suspicious move and I wash your face with cold water." He warned to him.

"Cold water alone won't make the glitch go off." Saito warned.

"Che. Why do these things happen to me, anyway?"

"Dunno. Ask Mr. Universe." Saito suggested.

"Yeah. And where do I find the guy?" Netto skeptically asked.

"Inside of the closet: behind the shoes' boxes." Saito signaled.

"And you'll then come in, close the door and ZAP! Right?" Netto seemed to see where this was leading to.

"Bravo, Watson." He clapped.

"By all the… This is maddening." He cursed.

"Not really. It's the beginning."

Netto finished the bed and ran off the room and downstairs: Saito shrugged and opened the balcony to come out into it and looked out at the panorama without noticing a figure looking towards him from afar using binoculars.

_So that guy's Hikari Saito… Ain't it obvious who he is? Heh, heh, heh! Whatever… They look unsuspecting. They mustn't know yet. But when they know… Fear and terror will fill their faces. Oh… It'll be exquisite. We'll slowly drive them to total despair… So go ahead and calmly enjoy what little time of "calmness" is left to you guys… Heh, heh, heh. Let's head back already: we gotta have a general meeting… And plan our next operations, too… But I know something ya guys don't: this is a mere heating up! When the real show begins… Nothing will be able to stand up to our power! Feel the fear and terror!_

The figure chuckled under its breath and formed a smug smile…


	4. Chapter 4: Death Club's meeting

**Chapter 4: Death Club's meeting**

10:04 AM (Japan Time), Saturday June the 18th…

"… Yo! Sorry for the delay."

"About time ya got here. We've got stuff to talk about."

"Do not be impatient."

A Navi walked into a Cyber World decorated with the words "Death Club" painted pale blue as background and being lit with halogen lamps colored purple thus giving it a creepy vibe.

"Kurayami. You only know how to stir up a ruckus, huh?"

"Well! Ain't that why we banded together to begin with? Kanaya?"

"If you two want to discuss then count me out."

"Don't worry, Death Shadow! Kanaya over here is subtler than me and doesn't like my straight to the point style."

"Yeah, I really don't. Let's get to the point: how are the experiments going like?"

"I am making progress."

The Net Navi named Kurayami could be slightly over a meter and fifty tall.

The helmet's design was rather peculiar because it wasn't a full helmet to begin with: the sides of it had two gray metallic shapes the form of which was slightly reminiscent of the Alphabet "L" character: a fluorescent green incision had been cut in the part adjacent to the face while the larger segments had a yellow-colored incision cut into it.

Black messy hair came out of behind the helmet given how it was a "partial protection" model: red thick shades covered the eyes and nose plus a small grayish metallic piece of armor was built to protect his chin and lower jaw: the skin over his neck was black in color.

The segment covering the head was built using a blackish material and could be divided in four sections.

These sections were: the centermost, built like a triangle aiming south and which also covered the forehead: it ended over the start of the nose.

The western and eastern sections of the head's protection had been shaped after diamonds.

These sections were aiming NW and NE plus having green fluorescent material running down the sides to join with the "L" shapes.

The rearmost piece was a mere curved segment connecting the lateral pieces: a gray metallic triangle was drawn on the middle of the head from where a black-colored fin emerged: the fluorescent green line divided it into two unequal portions: front and rear, and the rear one was painted using gray metallic coloring.

His armor's design had an "advanced" look to it: the chest area had a metallic spheroid protruding out of it which had the _kurayami_ or "Darkness" _kanji_ painted on its upper edge: a green-colored incision had been cut on the middle of it: the upper front half was colored in a white-like color while the rear upper half was black: however, the whole lower half had chosen gray as color to be used: the piece of armor below it and connecting to the rest of the body shared the same color.

The armor's colors were combined in the rest of the body below the chest segment: the flanks of the body had grey armor with green fluorescent edges while the central part of the body was tinted in black coloring.

Regarding his arms' design, a black piece of armor covered the shoulders which were encompassed by metallic spheroids: these spheroids were not "complete" spheroids because they had a cavity from where the arms emerged: a thin fluorescent green circular line was placed close to the upper edge where the armor was colored in black color and formed a dome with a hole at the topmost part of each spheroid the inner edge of which was painted using a yellow palette of coloring: these spheroids also had an indentation signaling the separation between each half.

His arms' skin was black in coloring while the armor built over his wrists was painted using two colors: black for the upper half and gray for the lower half.

A small thin piece of armor emerging from the upper half and shaped like the Alphabet "L" character turned 90º to the right was also present there: the hands' skin was also colored using black coloring.

The legs' armor, however, included two shapes which were a pair of combined cones (fused and aiming up and down) colored metallic gray and set within a green cavity extending from the hips to past the knees.

The colors then split as the outer edge of each leg was colored in gray armor while the inner edge were colored black: a green fluorescent line marked the division between them: the lines then drew another cavity which included gray metallic armor plating inside of it.

The feet armor was split in rear and front halves respectively colored black and metallic gray: a fin formed on the front half and it had a green fluorescent line crossing it on its front.

"So, Kanaya… What are you thinking we could do next?"

"Hmmm…"

Kanaya appealed as being around the same height Kurayami was yet her design could be considered somewhat more "simplistic" compared to his design.

The helmet's main color was black and it had a purple skull and crossbones with red eyes set on the forehead: two purple round button-like objects emerged from the sides of the head plus a purple band which formed the lower edge of the helmet: thick purple-colored shades covered her eyes but exposed her nose: blackish hair fell down the sides of her head and stopped slightly over the shoulders.

A blood red scarf was wrapped around her neck and it extended until the ground.

To begin with, she wore a black-colored one-piece-bodysuit which extended until the hips and ended in a skirt-like form: two small curved objects were placed over her shoulders and the upper part of her bodysuit (extending from the shoulders until the chest) was colored purple: it had no peculiar decoration drawn into it.

One purple and black-colored skull and crossbones with red eyes was set on the middle of her chest thus combining the upper half of her body with the bodysuit: two thin purple lines travelled down from the skull's SW and SE edges until the end of the bodysuit.

Her arms were covered by a combination of purple and black bands which extended until the wrists, which were covered by golden armor: it consisted of a thinner piece at the start plus a larger piece below it which had a small button drawn into the north side of it: the hands' skin was tinted using purple coloring.

The space between the end of the bodysuit and the start of the knees had nothing on them but black "skin" covering it.

The boots' armor began at the knees with black armor having purple pyramid-like drawings set over them: the boots had no peculiar decoration whatsoever and they ended in white edges on the very front of them.

"Yeah… Death. Ya told us ya were working on a new device to allow "Omicron Factor" Net Navis to draw out its power… Are ya making progress on that?" Kanaya asked.

"I call it "Hyper Mode" for the time being."

Death Shadow, however, was a different story: he seemed to be over a meter and eighty tall: he had a pale blue color to his body.

His helmet had no face and had a turquoise - colored slit shaped like the Alphabet letter "Y" was set on its center while it also had a dome-shaped form above it.

His shoulders were shaped like two round spheres with a cell-like pattern drawn into them: the armor was thicker around the chest and seemed to have two ellipsoid lines which vaguely resembled eyes set on it while a small round spot with six membrane-like formations on it made one image it was a mouth.

The left arm had some lines running down the sides before ending in a very thin and skeleton-like hand.

This had a living round turquoise eye with a black pupil set on top of its palm while, in comparison, the right arm bore what looked like a built-in buster colored both turquoise and navy blue.

The waist had a navy blue colored piece shaped like the Alphabet letter "V" built on it.

The legs had two round turquoise spots on each side plus above and below the knee which also resembled eyes: his feet were slightly curved in shape.

Overall, his mere presence seemed to chill the room and foresee something dreadful and terrible.

"Hyper Mode? Sounds dread enough." Kurayami grinned.

"Very well, then. Hyper Mode allows a Net Navi to use the source of their "Omicron Factor" to power their abilities tenfold. Their defense rate grows as well making attacks which are not "Omicron Factor" based inflict lesser damage. Yet… There is a draw." Death Shadow calmly told them before he muttered something under his breath.

"What?" Kanaya asked.

"I can only make it work for a maximum of 90 seconds. The system then demands a 90 second pause before starting up. I name it "cool-down time" for the time being." He explained.

"Hmmm… I don't see it being much of a trouble. Navi Battles are always short: I've never heard of one dragging for over 2 minutes. No… 1 minute is usually considered a novice's level, but pros always make it below that time…" Kurayami told him.

"Is that so? Then it shall not be a problem." Death Shadow sounded satisfied with the reply.

"Have you found out if the "Darkloids" undergo different symptoms compared to the Navis we abducted from Cyber City?"

"They seem to, for the time being. But I need more time to analyze the process and draw a comparison chart, too." He replied.

"Good. By the way! Do you think it's worth it sending one of the Net Navis out there to get some field data?" Kurayami suggested.

"Why not… It could be useful, ya know."

"I agree. I was going to suggest that myself." Death Shadow added while sounding a slightly better mood.

"Oh. Now that I think 'bout it… Kanaya. I guess ya don't care if I came up with the nickname "Venus Warrior" for ya…"

"Venus Warrior? No. I don't care." She quickly replied.

"I fail to see the point of it. Our traces of "Omicron Factor" could allow _them_ to know we are behind the whole incident and they would see through those "nicknames" as you two name them." Death Shadow argued.

"But we can confuse them a bit and then make them realize they've been fooled: when someone realizes they've been fooled then their anger increases and they tend to recklessly charge at you: that's when ya can deliver a fatal blow to them. I'm playing with that factor in mind, Death. We call this "psychological warfare" which means that you control the enemy's feeling and emotions. Anger, hatred, grudge, fury, hatred, frustration…" Kurayami explained to him.

"Hum. That sounds more logical. I tend to try to see the logical side of things and I fail to understand that human obsession for that non-existent power you name "magic"…" Death Shadow replied.

"Humans always want to have more power than they actually have so they obsess themselves in seeking a new source of power even though everyone knows it doesn't exist." Kanaya explained.

"Ah. They refuse to accept their powerlessness and such they try to believe they can be more powerful than they are to escape from their powerless state, then… I now see." He sounded amused.

"Humans are foolish. They created us Net Navis as their tools but we are slowly becoming more and more independent."

"True."

"And now Copy Roids will prove to be their downfall when one day Net Navis break free of their chains and escape into the real world to build their settlements and live isolated from humans in their communities… They always have developed tools to combat their powerlessness…"

"… Yet these tools have turned upon them. Computers and computer Viruses, the Proto Project, weapon trafficking… All they create eventually turns against them…" Kanaya continued.

"I see. How powerless they are… And would it not be fitting to leak word of a power capable of razing the world thus setting them off into mass panic and making them flee?" Death Shadow laughed.

"Not yet, not yet… Let's not rush. We should make some demonstrations first and then they'll really realize that we're serious. The best way to prove your power is to show it to the masses. Let's call a serious TV station and let them witness the power of the new-generation Net Navis. And if someone tries to get in the way, then…"

Kurayami reached for his back and drew a pomp shotgun which looked like it'd been modified to use "Omicron Factor" given the ghostly blue glow to it and the power lines spanning from the grip to the "mouths" of the barrels: he armed it and tapped the left side of it.

"… They become another prisoner of "Omicron Factor"…" He finished with a broad grin.

"Terrific. But my toy is deadlier!"

Kanaya drew a Gatling gun which also looked like it'd been modified to use "Omicron Factor" instead of normal ammunition.

"Remember to use the "Omicron Grenades" as well."

"Don't worry: I've got plenty of them." Kurayami replied as he showed him a belt with eight grenades attached to it.

"Don't forget that tonight at 21:00 hours we have a reservation in our usual place." Kanaya reminded Kurayami.

"I know. Good place, though. Plenty of equipment and privacy guaranteed thanks to the money we give them… No name is needed and no record is kept." Kurayami grinned.

"What do you mean?" Death Shadow asked.

"Don't worry, Death! That's part of a deal we'd made to each other to ensure we won't split apart because of "certain" interests which may differentiate depending on each one's POV, so... Nothing to be worried about, really." Kanaya shoved it aside.

"If you say so…" Death Shadow shrugged.

"I'll go continue my campaign of troll emails to make those guys' brains boil in vain… Any ideas, Ka?" Kurayami asked her.

"Well, Ku… Try to suggest that _naïve_ Roll EXE has a "sinister" side to her and picture her in the context ya know of…" Kanaya grinned.

"Oho. Terrific. Leave it up to me…"

"Heh, heh, heh." Kanaya giggled.

"I am afraid I did not follow the conversation… What do you mean by a "sinister" side and what "context" are you talking about?"

"Don't mind it, Death. It's our little stuff. Keep on with the experiments, Death, and we'll keep those guys busy by throwing fake leads out there. We can pretend we didn't listen to Bubble Man and went to Rome. And we _were_ in Rome for a week to start mass-production of "Omicron Factor" and then came here to build our lab…"

"They won't find it hard to believe. Bubble Man is so silly that he can get fooled and used easily. Really… He thinks that just building something which looks like a remote but has nothing inside will do something and that picking random cans and labeling them "C4" will turn them into explosives…" Kurayami laughed.

"If such a weak Net Navi is around, why not delete it?"

"Nah… It's better to use them."

10:49 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hiro – kun… Mail from Meiru – chan."

"Meiru – chan? Weird. Open it, though."

Hiro had been chatting with Netto and Saito inside of his house's living room as they sat on chairs around a table when Delta projected with his hologram: Hiro frowned but then shrugged.

"… E~H?" Delta gasped.

"What's wrong?" Hiro asked.

"NO WAY!" Delta uttered.

"What's wrong?" Hiro insisted.

"This can't be!"

"By all the… What's wrong?"

"This didn't happen!"

"What are ya talking about?"

"R-Roll – chan w-went a-and… l-last night…" He uttered.

"Last night? Roll? What… She tried to drag you with her to the cinema and ya didn't like it?" Hiro didn't seem to follow.

"… R-reversed the whole thing…" Delta blushed.

"Huh? Reversed the whole thing?"

"Reversed…?" Netto frowned.

"… No way. Roll – chan isn't that type of person. Say… Did it _really_ happen or is that a photo, Delta?" Saito seemed to catch up.

"A p-photo, but, eh, I… I show up with a blindfold on so I'm not sure if I was knocked out or anything, so… It could've happened and I didn't notice it…" Delta trailed off.

"Check the sender's address." Saito calmly suggested.

"… HUH? "Empress Sakurai"? Hotmail account? But Meiru – chan's account is a gmail account!" Delta gasped.

"There. I knew it. That Mars Warrior is back at it." Saito rolled his eyes and fumed.

"Ah…! Then it never happened…!" Delta sounded relieved.

"Will ya tell us what was wrong?" Netto and Hiro asked.

"Listen…"

Saito whispered something and both of them gasped: they turned pale and looked nervous.

"Phew. We should be glad it was a fake!" Hiro muttered.

"Totally!" Netto nervously nodded in agreement.

"See?" Saito told them.

"Thank goodness…!" Delta muttered.

"So… What do you guys suggest?" Hiro switched topics.

"Maybe we should go check Cyber City's Cyber World. Several Navis went missing from there, or so Papa said. It's a good point to start searching for clues." Saito suggested a course of action.

"What about the Sapporo lead?" Netto asked.

"… Hmmm… They could've lied to Bubble Man."

"True. But let's keep it. I think Enzan will be glad to check that out since he's gotta be fed up with correcting flaws to reports and such. Some raw action will do him fine." Netto grinned.

"Let's be glad he hasn't to compete with Arms Tech Inc.!"

"Jeez! Hiro – kun! That wasn't funny!" Delta protested.

"Did ya say something, Watson?"

Hiro giggled, Delta fumed and the twins looked surprised…


	5. Chapter 5: Vampire's afternoon

**Chapter 5: Vampire's afternoon**

16:09 PM (Japan Time), Saturday June the 18th…

"… So this is Cyber City Area 3… This pit must be the one leading to the "Underground" where those "Cybeasts" are sealed at…"

"Look. Aren't those statues…?"

"Oh! True. Depictions of the Cybeasts…"

"Let's have a closer look, Rock Man!"

"Won't hurt to…"

Rock Man was standing in an area of the Cyber World which was characterized by the huge and deep shaft of purple walls opening on the middle of it and extending until unseen depths: a small platform on the northern edge of the area contained two stone depictions of two creatures: Rock Man climbed up the steps to the platform and checked the statues out.

"Hmmm… "The left one in the shape of a lion is Greiga, while the right one in the shape of a bird is Falzer… Falzer was created by an unnamed scientist to fight the "Bug Fusion Body" which Greiga was yet it went out of control. Even while out of control it kept on fighting Greiga yet the scale of the damage increased twofold… After several days, though, both creatures made their last stand here and lurched for each other: the energy release collapsed this area and a new area, the "Underground" ended up being created: the two of them ravaged in this new territory until they grew exhausted and had one last clash. The authorities then saw their golden chance and managed to "seal" them by chaining them to the ground and depleting their energy. They remain like this as of present time." … I see. I know Denpa – san told us the tale last summer, but I wanted to refresh it, too…" Rock Man read aloud.

"Strange, though. There isn't anyone else here, either."

"True. Maybe they've been ordered to stay indoors? Then again… Area 1 and 2 were pretty populated.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh… That was my work… I removed the obstacles from the way… No – one will get in the way… Those who stick their noses where they're not called for get into trouble… Heh, heh, heh, heh…" A voice suddenly rang out.

"That voice…! It couldn't be!" Rock Man gasped.

"Mwa, hah, hah, hah… Let's go! Engage Hyper Mode! Hyper Crush Noise~!"

"UWA~H!"

"Rock Man!"

There was the sound of a machine turning on and, all of a sudden, a series of sonic pulsations impacted on Rock Man as they formed in the middle of the air and sent him flying off the platform and land hard into the ground: he groaned and managed to stand up somehow while rubbing his body's aching parts.

"S-strong! This guy's turned stronger…! I've lost 250 HP out of my 1000 HP in just ONE attack!" Rock Man gasped.

"So you lowlifes remember me… I was weak before! I died in a foolish way yet _shinigami_ – sama saw it that I deserved a new opportunity as HIS agent: Shade Man _Omicron_!"

The enemy named Shade Man dropped down from the sky and landed in front of Rock Man: his design was reminiscent of a vampire: he could be close to two meters tall.

His head was set inside of a neck-like formation with fangs protruding from their upper edge while pointing forward: the interior of it was partly colored blood red.

He had a cone-like object at the lower edge of his chin: the outer edge of the head was colored purple and two golden-colored bat-like ears formed at the sides of it.

His eyes' pupils were red and looked menacing: he had a moustache-like pattern below his nose which was interrupted in the middle of it.

The pattern left two straight lines aiming SW and SE towards the end of them: his mouth had fang-like teeth on it.

A small square piece was set at the base of the neck: it was colored black and had three vertical stripes drawn into it.

Two golden lines formed at the sides of it and marked the border between the upper body and the rest of the body: the drawing inside consisted on two curved halves aiming for each other colored purple.

There also a small peak-like object on the middle of it: the space between the three drawings was painted in blood red color.

His main body color was purple and navy blue: he had an upper body colored purple which ended half-way around the torso: the rest of the body was colored navy blue.

His upper body had two small round holes with a golden rim set to the edges of the torso and beneath the shoulders: two slightly curved golden-colored pieces were set above each shoulder.

His arms had a pattern resembling the Alphabet letter F mirrored drawn on his forearms: his hands were claws, too, and had four claw-fingers on them colored pale white.

Where his chest emblem would be at, however, there was a metallic device shaped like an octahedron and which had a ghostly blue cross in the middle of it: the device was humming and Shade Man was glowing with a ghostly blue halo as nerve-like patterns were drawn around different spots of his face.

Each of his legs had two white triangle-shaped patterns aiming upwards set around the knee: his feet had three large finger-claws colored white on them

"Heh, heh, heh… _Shinigami_ – sama has granted me a mission: remove all obstacles which get in the way! Hyper Crush Noise~!"

"Uwa~h!"

"No good! Battle Chip, Super Vulcan! Slot In!"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Useless!"

The bullets bounced off Shade Man and he spread his wings wide as he formed a smug smile on his face.

"Hyper Red Wing!"

Shade Man suddenly became a group of red bats and they flew towards Rock Man while hitting him from different spots and overwhelming him: Shade Man then reformed behind him and grinned.

"Hyper Crush Noise!"

"Gra~h!"

"Rock Man! Battle Chip, Recovery…!"

"Slow! Hyper Shade Hunt!"

A gigantic copy of Shade Man's right arm formed and the claw closed around Rock Man: he yelled in pain and tried to break free.

"Recovery…!"

"Hyper Crush Noise!"

"Gra~h!"

"Plug Out!"

"Useless!"

Netto was starting to get panicked, so he pressed the Plug – Out button: but the word "ERROR" showed up onscreen instead and the Link PET buzzed.

"Impossible!"

"No! Not impossible… This was a trap from the very start! Now… You lowlife only have about 50 HP left… Instead of just deleting you lowlife, which would be boring, be corrupted! Become one of the "Omicron Factor" Net Navis: the race which will rule the world! Hah!" Shade Man laughed.

He gripped Rock Man by the neck and drew his fangs as he pulled him towards them.

"ROCK MA~N!" Netto yelled.

"Hrah!"

"Ugoh!"

"That's as far as it goes, you lowlife."

"You lowlife… Who the hell are you? Huh? The Hyper Mode device…! It's broken! You lowlife~!"

"I'm Zero. Be deleted!"

"Crush…!"

"Slow."

TCHAC!

"Guwo~h!"

Rock Man slowly looked up from his face-down position on the ground to spot Zero plunging his sword into Shade Man's already broken chest device: he then kicked him into the ground and left him there as he ran towards Rock Man and crouched next to him: Rock Man.

"Z-Zero…?" He slowly called out.

"Here. Full Recovery Program."

He handed Rock Man a reddish spheroid which was absorbed by his chest emblem and Rock Man felt his strength being refilled.

"Zero! We owe you one. Really." Netto sighed in relief.

"Don't mind it. You two helped me become a Navi. It's the least I could do in exchange." He replied.

"But… Why were you here?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Delta was worried so he called me to ask of me to follow you two just in case… This jerk had locked all entrances and had to waste time taking the seal down: I made it just in time. Now step aside: I'm going to draw answers outta this jerk."

"Go ahead." Netto nodded in agreement.

Zero walked over to the beaten Shade Man and aimed the blade at his neck while stepping over the broken device.

"Speak." He commanded.

"Go ahead, finish me…" Shade Man taunted.

"I'm not an idiot. Speak."

"Hmpf."

"Speak!"

"Hmpf."

"Whatever. I've got other ways of finding things I want." Zero scoffed with obvious annoyance on his voice.

He gripped Shade Man's head with his left hand and it began to glow with a greenish light: Zero seemed to be processing data given how it could be seen scrolling down his eyes.

"Hmpf. A blue Net Navi who calls himself "_shinigami_"… One of the Death Club… It'd seem he's the one carrying out all experiments in Navis which involve the installation of this "Hyper Mode" ability… They can increase their power during a max of 90 seconds, must have a 90 seconds pause and then they can use it again…" Zero announced.

"Hyper Mode…!" Rock Man muttered.

"And it'd seem their lab is somewhere in Sapporo, after all, but he doesn't know the exact coordinates or location."

"So, Enzan is heading on the right direction…" Netto muttered.

"So it'd seem…" Rock Man sighed.

"… There doesn't seem to be anything else useful. He doesn't know how many other Net Navis there are or their names. Yet the looks of that "_shinigami_" guy are enough to scare anyone." He added.

"Hum… So that's how it is…" Rock Man muttered.

"Flee. Return to your master with the tail between the legs and the guy will decide what will happen to you lowlife."

Zero let go of Shade Man and helped Rock Man walk away from the area: Shade Man growled something and suddenly managed to stand up and draw his wings: he silently flew at top speed towards them but Zero turned around in a blur and drove his sword into the chest: "Omicron Factor" began to pour out and Shade Man howled as the sword emerged from behind him: Zero quickly drew the blade away while Shade Man fell into the ground and lied there.

"Hell's Burner!"

Zero drew the Battle Chip and used it to burn out the "Omicron Factor" on his sword thus sterilizing it.

"How did you…?" Netto asked.

"… Our experiments proved that it was highly flammable. Listen. I can't say anything else about this. Hikari – hakase has ordered total secrecy and all records have been destroyed for safety reasons. If you feel ready to know the terrific truth of this thing then speak to him."

"A-alright." Rock Man looked surprised.

"Gu… Gah… Guh… You… lowlifes… I'm not deleted… yet…! I still can fight and… destroy you lowlifes…! Huh… Agh… Gruh… Grah… I still have power…!"

Shade Man managed to stand up somehow while he formed a grimace and his eyes shone red: he suddenly formed two thin laser beams which headed for Zero and Rock Man but Zero used his sword to bounce them back at Shade Man's wound: the lasers set the "Omicron Factor" in fire and his body began to burn out.

"GUWA~H!"

Shade Man, however, instead of being normally deleted, began to break down into several parts which then became bluish pieces of data which flew into a "crack" in the middle of the "sky" to vanish inside of it and the "crack" closed but not before could and sinister laughter rang out of it to echo in the area.

"W-what was that?" Netto gasped.

"… Hmpf. It'd seem the villain wanted to recover whatever was left of the "Omicron Factor" in that jerk's body… Whatever."

"Ugh… I guess it was a bad idea coming here just like that… We should be more careful next time around…" Rock Man muttered.

"Nobody's perfect." Zero encouraged.

"Yeah… I know. What should we do?" Netto asked.

"Go back home. I'll take care of looking into the disappearance incidents by interviewing the Operators. I've contacted Sharo Nation's Laika and Search Man to give us a hand." Zero replied.

"Roger… Rock Man! Plug Out!"

"Roger, Netto – kun! I'm indebted to you, Zero."

"Don't mind it. Go."

Rock Man plugged out while Zero sighed in relief: he then whipped around and spotted a cardboard box open and turned upside down close to his position: he eyed it and seemed to be thinking about something.

_Cardboard box…? Wait. Akashi's favorite video game series was _Metal Gear Solid_, right? Then, this thing is ripped from there? I doubt Delta would play along and I know the _Three Musketeers_ are on an overseas assignment, so… Oh. Jeez._

He sighed and headed for the box, which he kicked away to reveal Bubble Man hiding inside of it: he gasped and tried to run out but Zero easily caught him by the tube.

"What were you doing here? Speak or I'll call the guys you hoaxed with that "Proton Torpedo" scam." He threatened.

"Puku! That guy, Mars Warrior, gave me this and told me I could become as good as a guy named "Solid Snake" at sneaking, puku! He encouraged me to try it out here, puku!" He confessed in a rush.

"Hmpf. So that's how it was… Where did you meet him?"

"Eh… He found me napping in my little Reverse Internet 4 site, puku, "Bubble Man – sama's Workshop", puku…"

"Obviously. Anyone could find you if they bothered to." Zero grumbled back.

"B-but it ain't like I'm guilty of anything, puku!"

"No. But it's called "guilty by association"… In short: because you have been talking with a guy who is our enemy, you're suspicious of actually helping him out." Zero shot back.

"E~H? NO WAY, PUKU~!"

"Way. Go to the Bahamas and don't come back. I'll go and imitate Superintendent Vicente's method to send people to somewhere for free, even." He sounded amused.

He turned Bubble Man around and delivered a kick to his back which sent him flying until he became out of sight: Zero shrugged and then began to walk down the area towards the entry/exit point.

"Kya~h! Zero – sama~!"

"Huh? What?"

He turned around to see a crowd of about thirty females Navis rushing towards him: he looked surprised, for once, and stepped back as they suddenly stopped in front of him.

"Please sign us an autograph!"

"Huh? I'm not famous." Zero sounded confused.

"But we know you are going to be James Bond – sama's opponent in the next movie, _Skyfall_! Venus Warrior tweeted that in the official website 10 minutes ago! She must be producer Broccoli! So? What exactly is your role going to be about?" One of them who had a press accreditation for the DNN TV Station asked.

"Huh… Eh… That's…" He trailed off.

"Ah! Contract clauses: you aren't allowed to go into details so as to not to spoil the film, then? We get it! You will steal Bond – sama's lover this time around and seduce her! We are sure your true face under the mask must be like Brad Pitt's!" The report exclaimed.

"M-mask? Who said I wore a mask?" Zero sounded baffled.

"Venus Warrior tweeted that, too!"

"Are you sure it's really producer Barbara Broccoli?"

"It HAS to, sir! So?" The reporter quickly replied.

"I thought Javier Bardem is set to be the villain?" Zero brought up.

"Ah! Then you have to be his right-hand man!"

"By all the… I have no connection to the film! And I think this "Venus Warrior" hacked into the website! She must be the companion of "Mars Warrior", the terrorist of Akihara Town!" He growled.

"Is that so? Then we have exclusive news! Thank you for your time and beware: there will be more requests for signs now that you openly admit being in the film!" The reporter sounded eager.

"I said I wasn't related: didn't you hear me first time around?"

"Sign! Sign! Sign! Sign!" They chorused.

"There! Craig's Net Navi!" Zero pointed.

They all turned around to stare at Navi who was seemingly a passerby: the crowd shrieked in excitement and the Navi ran while chased by the crowd: they didn't see Kanaya looking from atop a staircase and giggling…


	6. Chapter 6: Evening Mansion

**Chapter 6: Evening Mansion**

11:44 AM (Japan Time), Sunday June the 19th…

"… Heh, heh, heh! I had luck at the Chip Traders: I got some nice ones today! Higure – san even began to check the machine to see if it was broken or something!"

"Yeah. He sometimes doesn't understand that some people have better luck than others."

Netto and Saito were talking as they headed back home from Higureya: Netto was looking at some Battle Chips while Saito looked amused at the experience.

"I'll go ahead and check the post mail." Saito told him as he glanced at the mailbox.

"Good. I'll be heading upstairs."

Netto headed inside while Saito opened the mailbox and sorted the letters: he immediately found one which was different given the black-colored envelope and the golden words "Hikari Brothers" written into it: he turned it around and gasped: the purple skull and crossbones with red eyes was the seal of this letter.

"What the…! What's this letter? I better check it out with Netto – kun. It looks like it's something serious!" He muttered.

He ran inside, took off his shoes, put on the slippers, and quickly climbed into the room, opening the door in a brusque manner, surprising Netto, who looked up from his magazine.

"W-what's wrong, Saito – niisan?"

"Look at this, Netto – kun!"

"W-what the heck is this letter?" Netto gasped.

"It has to be serious stuff."

"Y-yeah… Hope so…"

Saito opened it and found a computer-written letter inside of it: he took it out and looked at it.

"… "Gentlemen. We _Death Club_ would want to truly demonstrate to which extent our power can come. Maybe we can negotiate the release of some of the Navis in our possession given their lack of compatibility with our "Hyper Mode" system. Let us discuss that during a supper today at 21:00 PM in the Evening Mansion we've rented out for this proper occasion. Of course, other enlightened persons are also invited to come and they may have better ideas of how to carry out a proper negotiation. To find out the location of the Evening Mansion, you can look it up using Goggle. We shall be waiting and we promise that this is a parliamentary meeting: no conflict shall be sparked tonight regardless of the negotiations' conclusions whichever they might be. Yours politely, Duke of Dusk, Executive Director and Founder." … Negotiation…! They want to negotiate the release of some Navis…!" Saito read before muttering.

"Duke of Dusk… Sounds like an alias…" Netto muttered.

"Totally. But we aren't the only ones invited, either…" Saito muttered next while bringing the right hand to his chin.

The entrance bell rang so Saito headed downstairs and checked out through the peephole: Hiro was standing outside, so Saito unlocked the door.

"Hiro. What's up?" He greeted.

"Did ya two get a similar letter?" He asked as he held an identical one up for him to see.

"Yeah. Come in."

"Thanks."

Hiro took off his shoes and changed to slippers before climbing into the bedroom along with Saito: Netto looked at the letter's envelope where it read "Akashi Hiro – sama & Delta – sama" instead.

"So, whaddya think?" Hiro asked.

"It's a chance to negotiate, yet… We can't take their word that they won't attempt anything. It could be a trap for all we know. Or they could try to ask for something we can't provide in exchange." Saito calmly suggested to them.

"I was thinking along those lines." Delta admitted.

"Let's hope no – one else of the class is involved. I think someone from the "Committee", most likely Denpa – san, will be involved given the hint to someone having more experience to handling negotiations and having experience in the field." Saito exposed next.

Netto's Link PET rang and he activated the holographic screen: a man on his late 50s or early 60s: he had a refined-looking moustache and grayish hair which reached until the base of the neck came on screen: he had blue eye irises and sported smoked sunglasses over them.

"Good afternoon."

"Whoa! Liquid!" Hiro gasped.

"Ah… Hiro – kun. Have you forgotten me?" The man sounded somewhat amused.

"Ops! Denpa – san… Sorry! I always jump out like this because you're disguised just like Liquid Ocelot from _MGS4: Guns of the Patriots_! Sorry, sorry!" Hiro gasped.

"Bah. Don't mind it." He reassured him.

"Eh… Denpa – san, could it be that…?" Saito timidly called out.

"I got a letter from the "Death Club", you were going to ask? Correct. Chief Lezareno and Colonel Talos got them as well. Who else got it apart from you two, though?" The man asked.

"Hiro and Delta." Netto replied.

"So we're seven if we include Delta yet there will be six sitting at the table plus this man… We've run a check: he doesn't show up anywhere so it has to be an alias."

"Could the whole thing be a trap, though, Mr. Denpa?" Hiro asked.

"We can't discard the idea. But there could be truth to their words as well, so… We'll go armed just in case. We've got devices to disable Copy Roids and Delta could Plug – In into Dimensional Converters to shut them down as well." Mr. Denpa told them.

"Why did you switch to the English word, by the way?" Netto asked Hiro while looking curious.

"Well… As far as I know, everyone in the "Committee" names him using the "Mr." prefix, so…" Hiro trailed off.

"Oh. Yeah. We get it." Netto replied.

"Well then… Let's meet on the square at 19:30 hours. I'll talk with your parents." Mr. Denpa instructed.

"Roger!"

The call finished and Netto placed the Link PET into the arm-strap: it beeped and he checked it out.

"Mail from Dekao… "Tell Saito to stop stalking Chisao or I'll use my super boxing skills to beat the guy down!" … Oi, Saito – niisan… Why would you stalk Dekao's little brother?" Netto asked.

"I barely knew he had a little brother! And aren't I with you the whole time, too? How could I be in two places at the same time?" Saito protested back.

"Well…" Netto trailed off.

"The address doesn't match!" Delta warned.

"What? That Mars Warrior jerk: he trolled us again!"

"He seems to be aiming for us to fight each other, even!"

"What a guy!" Hiro cursed.

They grumbled in annoyance under their breaths yet they didn't spot a dragonfly hidden in the ceiling…

19:28 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Well! At least we decided to put on our school clothes to look somewhat more "elegant" if we're being invited to supper. I'd never imagined I'd be wearing it a Sunday's evening."

"Ironies of life, I'd say."

"Oh! There they come… A Honda!"

"As expected of the "Committee"… They're always ready!"

The twins, Hiro and Delta were standing in Akihara Town's square and spotted a black Honda FRV model driving up and stopping: the passengers climbed down.

"Good evening."

"Good evening, Denpa – san!"

Mr. Denpa wore an open brown coat which reached until the knees: he then wore a brown trench suit with two black adjustable bands colored clear brown: he had a black shirt under it plus a necktie.

His pants were clear brown and his shoes were simply brown.

He also had black fingerless gloves with an open square over the hand.

"It's been a while, gentlemen."

"He is Chief Lezareno: head of the Security Department!"

"Pleased to meet you, sir."

Chief Lezareno looked on his forties and struck as being close to a meter and ninety tall: his hair was neatly combed and it was of a blond color:

He was dressed in a grey leather sports suit and a jacket: his pants were made of the same material and he wore black boots.

He also sported sunglasses over his eyes.

"Gentlemen. It's been a while. It would seem the fortune isn't smiling on us, though."

"And he is Colonel Talos: a former Sharo Nation military officer… He's a good officer in the Analysis Section."

Colonel Talos also looked as being on his late forties: his hair was grey and parts of it fell down in the front of the face and he seemed to be missing his left eye as well.

He was dressed in a grey army uniform, although the area around the sleeves and neck was colored in a reddish patch: he had a distinction on the right side of the uniform just underneath the right shoulder.

He was also holding a strange artifact on his right hand which seemed to be some kind of customized dagger: it had a central handle shaped like a cylinder: two curved daggers sprouted from each end, with each facing an opposite direction: some strange patterns were carved across each dagger's surface.

"Let us go." Mr. Denpa requested.

"Roger!"

The teens climbed into the rear seats of the Honda FRV model while the adults picked the front seats: Mr. Denpa was the driver; Chief Lezareno was in the middle and Colonel Talos on the left passenger seat.

"We have run investigations on the mansion: it indeed has been rented for this occasion because it's usually picked as the spot for dinners or conferences: the payment was done via the Barclays Bank and was totally legit. The name of the account is "Emilio Magnum" yet he doesn't figure in any database." Colonel Talos briefed them.

"Does the place look ideal for a trap?" Hiro asked.

"Totally. It's on top of a peak and the only communication is a road: there is a wooden bridge crossing an abyss and which is the only way in or out of the area: cell phones don't work there either given the lack of broadcasting antennas. There is a landline, though."

"But I guess you have contingency plans in case they did try to isolate us up there?" Saito deduced.

"Heh. Obviously, gentlemen. We have sent agents there and checked for any explosive setup on the bridge: one team is waiting on a nearby gas station and we've set up a hidden camera to control the bridge. Were they to spot it being blown up, they'd notify the chopper we've rented out so that it can come here. Were the chopper to find hostility, then they'll have to contact the riot squad police." Colonel Talos listed.

"Whoa! That's some good planning." Delta whistled in surprise.

"Did you really think we'd go unprepared into the enemy's territory, gentlemen? This is what happened to all invaders of Sharo Nation: they came unprepared to face the Siberian winter and failed one after the other starting with the Romans." He smiled.

"Obviously… Sharo Nation has had to defend itself from invasion attempts several times." Saito added with a smile.

"It is, in essence, a chain of events. It's like when programming a game, even. Go to X spot then, given Y condition trigger Z event. Games always work on a "place-condition-event" mechanic. Cut-scenes are triggered by having the two earlier spots being met." Chief Lezareno added with a small smile as well.

"This reminds me of the maps and campaign of an RPG game I own: I had to program a set of events, rules and conditions and believe me: it's not easy job because of the endless combinations you can come up with. But the end result is worth it. It's like when making a big-scale videogame which takes years because they need to build up the graphics engine and all aspects of it plus having it undergo bug-checking and purging before producing the masters." Mr. Denpa explained.

"Ah. I know of that game… _Tzar: the Burden of the Crown_. Little-know outside of Europe, though. It's by an Eastern European studio and even though it's something of the 1990s it still is enjoyable." Chief Lezareno commented.

"I think I'll treat you gentlemen to it one day…"

The teens smiled at the teasing while Mr. Denpa chuckled…

20:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Well. Here we are. Evening Mansion. And I see that a butler is waiting there, on the entrance."

"Good. Let's go."

The group of six climbed down from the car and looked at the mole of the mansion's front façade: a set of stone stairs climbed until the porch which marked the entrance to it: the skies around them had started to cloud up and it threatened to rain.

"Follow us." Mr. Denpa whispered to the teens.

They nodded in understanding and walked up the steps after the adults: the butler, a man on his early 30s who had brownish hair and was clean shaven, greeted them with a reverence.

"Welcome to the Evening Mansion."

"Is everything ready, we believe?" Chief Lezareno asked.

"It is, sires. If you'd please follow me…" He requested.

He opened the doors and the group looked around the hall: a main stair led to the first floor and there were some other rooms' doors built on different spots of the hall.

"Over here, please…"

They followed him through a corridor and he stopped in front of two oak doors which he opened: the group stepped in and gasped.

"Good evening. I, the Duke of Dusk, greet you, gentlemen. Please take your seats. The negotiations are about to begin."

Their guest was a man (given the voice) wearing a black suit with a black tie and white gloves: he sported a purple hood with two cuts for the eyes which were glowing with a red halo over the head to conceal his identity: he appealed as being about a meter and eighty tall in height yet his voice sounded distorted so it wasn't possible to guess his estimate age given its pitch or tune.

"Your seats are marked, gentlemen. Mr. Butler. Bring in the aperitifs. You will have to excuse me, but I am fragile of health. I had my own dinner a while ago, so do not be surprised if I do not eat in front of your presence and do not take off the mask: I would like to have my privacy respected, thank you very much." The man told them.

The group sat on both sides of the table shaped like the Alphabet "U" letter spun around 180º given the names drawn in a piece of white cardboard set atop each empty dish.

"Let's see… I go here: left row's topmost seat. Netto – kun goes at my right and Hiro goes to his left." Saito announced.

"I get the seat across Saito – kun, the Chief goes to my right and Colonel Talos goes to his right…" Mr. Denpa muttered.

They sat down on their assigned seats and the butler brought some spring rolls with sauce and some bread: he then made a reverence and came out of the room by slowly closing the doors.

"Well then… Let us begin the negotiations. I will list out the names and Operator for each Net Navi." The Count of Dusk announced.

"We'll listen." Mr. Denpa calmly replied.

"Ahem, ahem. Tomahawk Man EXE: Mr. Dingo… Tengu Man EXE: Fuuten Roushi – sama… Ground Man EXE: Horisugi Dotarou – sama… Dust Man EXE: Mr. Press… Killer Man EXE: Dark Kirisaki – sama… Aqua Man EXE: Kido Shuuko – sama… Charge Man EXE: Kurogane Kunio – sama… Slash Man EXE: Phacki Faran – sama… Now… Cosmo Man EXE, Cloud Man EXE and Blizzard Man EXE do not have an Operator, so… Shade Man EXE has been deleted. Total: 11 Net Navis. We are disposed to negotiate the release of Aqua Man EXE, Ground Man EXE, Dust Man EXE, Charge Man EXE and Tengu Man EXE… There is just one condition."

"We imagined there'd be." Chief Lezareno drily replied.

"Disclose the identity of the "Common Patterns" to the general public and give all information you have to the authorities. Only then we will release these Net Navis."

"Huh? You expect us to suddenly give out 40 years of data to the police and to the media? They'd take forever to sort it out: can you imagine what 40 years of data means? It's like declassifying all CIA documents of the last 40 years! There are some names which don't mean anything anymore given how those persons have passed away over time, yet… You ask too much! Can't we settle on the last 5 years at the least?" Chief Lezareno sounded baffled.

"… We agree. The last 5 years. We will be satisfied with seeing enough headlines in the main international media. You have 1 week's time limit to carry that out before we release them. As part of this agreement, if you want to ensure the safe release of the Net Navis, you are not to try to actively hunt down our bases of operation or agents. You are in your right to defend yourself while being attacked, though, and we don't care if an experiment is deleted or captured. But you have 1 week starting tomorrow at 20:00 PM." The Duke of Dusk replied.

"You know… This rings a bell somewhere… Oh! _Millennium 3: The Queen of the air currents palace_ by Stiegg Larson… The _Millennium_ magazine disclosed the existence of a group of conspirators inside of the Sweden SÄPO…" Mr. Denpa suddenly muttered.

"Is that so? It must be one of those coincidences on life." The Duke of Dusk sounded intrigued.

"… Yet… To even know the "Common Patterns"… Nobody outside our organization names them like that. Others name them "the Conspirers", "the New World Orders" or similar exaggerated titles which only bring them more glory…" Chief Lezareno brought up.

"We had access to an internal document dated February, 2008. There were plenty of details written there."

"February, 2008… Hmmm… Maybe that was a little memorandum I wrote for the new Branch Chief in Los Angeles…" Colonel Talos muttered as if recalling.

"Correct, Colonel Talos. It had your firm on it plus your own personal seal which you used so much."

"Wait a minute. Did you say "used too much"? How could you know that if you only saw _one _document?" Colonel Talos questioned.

The Duke of Dusk suddenly fell silent yet tension began to build on the room: the twins had noticed it, too, and were glancing at the figure: none of them had yet touched the aperitifs, even.

"Someone told us." The Duke of Dusk finally replied.

"Someone? I find that hard to believe. Why would any of our agents tell that to one of you when they know the extent of your actions? You have been labeled as "public enemy" by the State." Colonel Talos argued while turning his voice colder and deadlier.

"One of your agents had a slip when a middle man of ours invited him to some _sake_. He happened to know the middle man from his previous job before joining the "Committee"… Agent Mori."

"Agent Mori? He wasn't around in February, 2008. He joined on February, 2009." Colonel Talos formed a smug smile.

"I doubt Mori – san falling for that, either." Saito added.

"Hmpf. He was in the JSDF and had a clean service record. So, Duke of Dusk? Where did you get the info that I used my family seal to sign memorandums? And how could you know if I used it "too much" when I only use it like a dozen times in a year? Or did you know I stamped my folders with it, too? No – one but high-ranks officers knew that and no agents were supposed to know that. So?"

"Clever bothersome guy!" The man actually cursed.

"My, my. Those are some manners for a Duke…" Chief Lezareno taunted next.

"Shaddup! I control the situation! I can blow up the bridge and isolate you people here!" The man snapped.

"Bluff. We've inspected the bridge beforehand and there wasn't anything set on it, you wannabe… Let's end the farce already. We'll have a look at your true colors!" Mr. Denpa smiled.

"If you dare to touch me then the Net Navis shall be fitted with such doses of "Omicron Factor" that there'll be no turning back for them! I am a plenipotentiary ambassador!" He exclaimed.

"Who is Death Shadow?" Mr. Denpa asked.

"Huh? One of Mr. Sponsor's Net Navis!"

"Wrong. I said _Death_ Shadow not _Blood_ Shadow."

"His twin, I guess!"

"The true identity of the _shinigami_: Mr. Sponsor contacted us a while before we got here and he revealed to us that he'd been chasing them all across the Bermudas! Kurayami EXE, Kanaya EXE and Death Shadow EXE: they form the Death Club and there are no human agents given how they are totally independent Net Navis!" Mr. Denpa let out a bombshell.

"What in the…!"

Mr. Denpa pulled off the hood only to reveal a black-colored mannequin's head with a speaker built into it yet leaving part of the nose and the mouth on its face.

"Mannequin, eh? And given the replies… This has a mike hidden into it somewhere. And our "Duke of Dusk" must have a small wireless mike and headphone on him." He deduced.

"But, then…" Netto began.

"The Navi list is public: anyone could know that. Yet I'm surprised he knew information we didn't know about the "Omicron Factor"… He must have gotten it from the Science Labs somehow. And we can think of only one person who could have access to such info about us and our "enemy", the "Common Patterns"…" Chief Lezareno quickly constructed.

"Then, it's manhunt time." Mr. Denpa announced as he drew a Beretta 92F and cocked it with a grin.

The other two men drew their guns and ran out, followed by the trio: a manhunt was on…


	7. Chapter 7: Keitai Denwa

**Chapter 7: Keitai Denwa**

21:21 PM (Japan Time), Sunday June the 19th…

"… The kitchen… Nobody move!"

"Huh! Police…?"

"Please show us the ID card, sir."

"Y-yes, sir!"

The group of six stormed the kitchen and the cook (a man on his 40s with brown hair and beard plus brown eyes and wearing a cook's attire) handed Chief Lezareno his passport.

"Ooguro Hiroki, 41, born on July 1960… You live in Densan Town's 3rd district… Who hired you?" He asked.

"W-well… The owner of the mansion… I am _freelance_ so I tend to be hired for such occasions from time to time given my good references and record, so…" Ooguro nervously replied.

"Did you know the butler from before?"

"No, sir!"

"Did you spot anything out of place with him?"

"Well… I went to the bathroom and I could hear him on the adjacent stall muttering something but I wasn't able to properly hear it… Is something the matter?" He replied.

"He might be the one who hired you and has tried to fool us by pretending to be a non-existent person." Chief Lezareno summarized.

"E~H?"

"We apologize, but I'm afraid we won't be able to enjoy the supper you have prepared… Extreme circumstances, you see."

"Ah… Ah… I u-understand… Well… I hadn't cooked the first dish yet because I was waiting for instructions, so…"

"You may leave. You are not guilty of anything. I've dealt with enough people to see you are not a part of this."

"T-thank you very much…"

The group ran out into the hall and Chief Lezareno rummaged into his suit's inner pocket to take a small mike out: he attached to the frame beneath one of the steps and they then continued looking around by entering a living room having a billboard and two small tables with a chess game and a set of Trumps set above them.

"Hmmm…" Colonel Talos muttered.

"Cologne…!" Hiro noticed.

"The butler had cologne on, too." Saito recalled.

"He's been here… And very recently ago, too." Chief Lezareno deduced as he looked around the room.

Colonel Talos headed over to the fireplace and examined a dissected deer's head from close up: he looked at its eyes with a magnifying glass he brought out of a pocket and smiled.

"Hidden cameras… VHF model… No wires… Pro work… And this matches our style…" He listed.

"So! There has to be a hidden control room somewhere. This place has been rented ever since two days ago and you don't set this up in just two days. But maybe our man could come here pretending to be an electrician and set this up. He might have had a different cover in mind but the recent happenings gave him powerful bait to lure us in. We were the three who dealt with him, yet… I don't know why he would involve these gentlemen over here…" Chief Lezareno deduced.

"Maybe he was curious as to see why we went out of our way to protect them." Mr. Denpa offered.

"Ah… Curiosity got the cat…" Colonel Talos sounded amused.

"True." Chief Lezareno smiled.

"But how do we find his control room in such a huge mansion? There could be tons of rooms he could use." Netto brought up.

"A discrete spot… Who knows? Maybe there's enough space in the ceiling somewhere to lodge a room which doesn't show up on official schematics of the place." Mr. Denpa suggested.

"If not… We can try to plug the cameras and be like Holmes when he drew out the Norwood builder Mr. Oldacre: set a little fire and shout "fire!" to the top of our voices…" Chief Lezareno suggested.

"My. That would be fitting." Colonel Talos seemed to agree with it.

"But what if he's…?" Hiro began.

"Listening? No, sir! I carry a bug detector inside of my coat and it hasn't beeped once since we got inside of the house: I turned it off for dinner but now started it up again." Mr. Denpa replied.

"Let's go to the kitchen: we may find what we need there and the floor is built using ceramic tiles so it can't burn: let's overcook something and the let the smoke come out. It will be amusing." Chief Lezareno suggested with a broad smile.

The group came back into the kitchen: Chief Lezareno kept his gun drawn and was controlling the entry while Colonel Talos searched all nooks and crannies to make sure the butler wasn't around: the twins merely remained silent in a corner as Mr. Denpa picked a toaster and set a bread slice inside: he then tuned it to max.

"Heh. This burnt smell should be good enough… Let's place another slice, too. And let's invent roasted bread." He grinned.

"Terrific. Ferran Adrià will curse under his breath at not coming up with it sooner." Chief Lezareno commented with a hint of sarcasm.

"Elemental, Chief."

"What a weird manhunt!" Netto muttered.

"Yeah. But let's be glad we outnumber him."

The toaster and the bread heating up on the kitchen began to form smoke which snuck out into the hall: the slices of bread, being totally burnt, popped out of the toaster as well.

"Ready?" Mr. Denpa asked the other two.

"Ready."

"FIRE~!"

"Once more, gentlemen!"

"FIRE~!"

"By all the…! I knew hiring such a lame cook was a bad idea: now he's left the fire on and can't turn it off! A man on his 40s and acts like a 5 year old kid playing with fire: he gets burned!" The butler's voice cursed as he could be heard running down the stairs.

The two groups hid behind the open doors: Mr. Denpa stood in angle where he could shield the teens while the other two were hid behind each door.

"Ooguro! You lowlife! You're fired! Huh? Where's Ooguro? What! Bread slices and a toaster?"

The butler had barged in while holding a fire extinguisher when he stopped upon realizing there was no – one and the setup: Chief Lezareno quickly took two steps forward and cocked the gun right behind the man's skull: he gasped but then Colonel Talos aimed for his neck's right side while having a broad smile on his face.

"_Ex_ Agent Tengoku! It would seem you weren't welcome in Heaven and you had to come back to Earth in shame: what a pity! Really… How the mighty have fallen!" He greeted with obvious sarcasm and making his foreign accent stood out.

"Colonel…!" He grumbled.

"So? You tossed them asides?" Chief Lezareno deduced.

"Wasn't that obvious, Lezareno?" He snapped back.

"My, my. Your manners have gotten rusted. I'm surprised at you having enough money to afford this rent, the spy equipment, the dinner and Ooguro's rate."

"Hmpf!"

"Ah… "Mysterious province bank robber who ends up returning 90% of the stolen money strikes again: local province police baffled! Are we going to need the help of Tokyo?" … _Nara Times_, April, 2011." Colonel Talos quoted as if solving the question.

"You guys fooled me like I was that vengeful old man from that Holmes story!" He cursed.

"Ironic, ain't it? We got inspired from it."

"So, Denpa – Henkan! Aren't ya gonna say something?"

"Mr. Denpa if you may, Tengoku."

"Keitai Denwa! Hah! Take that."

"My, my! An irony out of my codename… You were envious that it sounded too "cool", maybe?" He taunted.

"Hmpf!"

"I see. Our documents, combined with yours… They would create a nice scandal and you could call the media to privately interview you in a secretive manner as if being a _Deep Throat_…" Mr. Denpa deduced with a smile.

"And he would ask for some money in compensation because he could claim he was "risking his post"…" Lezareno smiled next.

"It'd seem the Hans - Erik Wenneström affair has been inspiring you together with the "Zalachenko Club Affair"… Stiegg Larson's books are catchy enough for you, I'd say." Chief Lezareno added.

"So! I understand the guy of the bandana stopping the WWW and Gospel and the combed guy being his brother are under you guys' protection. But where did the black-haired guy come out from, hmmm?"

"Ever heard of Neo Nebula or were you too busy stealing those banks to then return 90% of the booty?" Mr. Denpa taunted.

"Neo Nebula! Of course I heard about them but I didn't get to learn very well who else was there except for that Dr. Regal guy."

"Well, Mr. Akashi was the one who started it up, actually. Mr. Delta had been programmed by Dr. Regal and back then could only think of rebuilding Nebula somehow. But he needed help from "this" side so he stumbled upon Mr. Akashi in a forum and then approached him to become partners." Chief Lezareno summed up.

"And because he ended up quitting and could be targeted by people who knew it you assigned protection to him too, huh? So? Who's that Mr. Sponsor and where are he and his _Three Musketeers_? I've been looking through the whole Reverse Internet and only spotted that Forte guy and his "Gospel Jr." pet." Keitai Denwa grumbled.

"Maybe you didn't bother to scout the Bermudas as a vacation resort, Keitai?" Mr. Denpa taunted.

"The Bermudas! The last place I'd think of: they're so filled with conspiracy and UFO theories that I find them to be one of the most ridiculous spots on the Earth!" He growled.

"The Nazca Lines must be number 2, then." Mr. Denpa grinned.

"Whatever! I'll get to the bottom of this! Like those two _Washington Post_ journalists did back when the Watergate Scandal…!"

"So you've read about it, eh?" Chief Lezareno sounded amused.

"Grftjx! So! What are you gonna do 'bout me, hmm?"

"Call the authorities, obviously enough. Do you seriously think we'll let a serial bank robber go loose?" Colonel Talos calmly replied.

"Come with me, gentlemen. We'll call for the backup agents. We should be driving back to the town, so…"

"Watch out!" Hiro gasped.

Keitai Denwa had suddenly drawn a knife from inside of his right sleeve's wrist area and used it to hit the gun Chief Lezareno was holding, moving him towards the left: Keitai Denwa then tried to deliver a fist to his jaw but Chief Lezreno ducked and used his left elbow to hit the adversary's stomach area: Keitai Denwa ignored the blow and ducked to dodge a shot by Colonel Talos: he dropped the knife and gripped Chief Lezareno's right wrist to struggle for control of the gun: he suddenly jerked Chief Lezareno towards the right and ran out while ducking: he closed the right door shut behind him thus blocking out a shot by Mr. Denpa.

"By all the… We didn't teach him that!" Colonel Talos cursed.

"Maybe it's an attempt to imitate CQC?" Hiro wondered.

"Close Quarters Combat…! Hmmm… Could be. Wait. He's heading upstairs… Let's go, Chief!"

"Roger. Mr. Denpa: please drive them to the car and call for the reinforcements: we should blockade the bridge."

"Understood… Come, gentlemen."

Mr. Denpa and the trio came out outside and suddenly spotted a Honda motorbike driving off with Keitai Denwa aboard it: he tugged his face and tossed his latex mask away, revealing messy black hair and brown eyes plus some traces of unshaved beard and moustache: he then put on the helmet and stopped at the bridge's entrance to make an obscene gesture at them and speed away.

"By all the…! He had this window ready." Chief Lezareno's rang out from the west side of the house.

"It would seem our enemies picked him from the Yakuza given his tendency to obscene gestures…" Colonel Talos drily commented with a slight hint of sarcasm.

"At this speed he'll run away from the agents… And he's not that idiotic to keep on with a bike the plate of which have already memorized. Sadly, gentlemen, the bird flew away despite our efforts… We should wrap this whole affair up already…"

21:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hello! About time ya picked the phone up, Hades…! Listen: the whole thing went ashtray 'cause I went outta my tongue, had to improvise, and they then lured me out like I was the old man from the Holmes Norwood-something tale…!"

Keitai Denwa was talking with someone using a public telephone's cabin and was constantly looking around as if expecting someone to assault him at any moment now.

"Well. My good sir. I fail to see why I should be blamed for it. I only gave you the info I picked from the Hikari twins using my dragonfly and the public list of vanished Navis… I couldn't know Cousin had already given them such info. He's a maniac of looking for bugs and such so he was able to locate all dragonflies I sent there…" An educated man's voice calmly replied over the phone.

"I dunno how YOU found MY phone number but I thought the info ya had was useful…"

"I insist, sir! I thought it was good enough coming straight from someone personally involved it into the affair, sir. And I have said Cousin has impaired all my attempts to listening into his conversations, sir. I am not a hacker, sir, or all-powerful, sir." The man named "Hades" politely and calmly replied.

"Grfjtx! I understand that, yet…! Ah! Whatever! Just tell me your bloody Cousin's name at we're at peace!"

"You might be able to find him using his civilian name Zataki Tosho but the name he personally uses is "Vadous", sir… Yet… Try not mentioning the origin of the name: it annoys him."

"Yeah? If it annoys the guy so much why doesn't he go with that civilian name to begin with?" Keitai Denwa shot back.

"Long story, sir, which can be shortened like this: it's the name he was given and he didn't knew where it came from until barely two years ago, so enough time had passed…"

"Fine! I don't need to listen to the whole tale tonight. Yet… If you're cousins, why are you opposing him?"

"Ah… A good question, sir! The answer is simple: I seek my own interests, just like you, sir. And he is not aware that I am his only living relative because he was led to believe he doesn't have any, sir. I simply like having the cards laid atop the table and knowing their intentions and motives before making a move, sir." "Hades" explained.

"Hmpf. Alright. I'll be satisfied with that answer… And why didn't you tell me earlier he was in the Bermudas?"

"He must've moved there recently, sir. I knew he was in Hong – Kong yet he jumped there… Maybe he thought he'd find a trail of that "Death Club" over there… He tends to get obsessed with his targets: he'll most likely neglect sleep and food for most of the time, even. And he doesn't like vulgar-like humor, either, sir." "Hades" detailed.

"Ah! True. Ya told me he was in Hong – Kong… Well! From what those guys let out, the "Death Club" is built up of three Net Navis whose names are Kurayami, Kanaya and Death Shadow. He got me there with the last one because I mistook him for that other Navi, Blood Shadow… I think there's gotta be a reason why they both are named after opposite concepts…" Keitai Denwa revealed.

"There has to, indeed, sir. I will try to look into it yet remember that I have my limitations, sir. I am not Deep Throat in the aspect that I am in a position where I hold powerful information, sir."

"Good enough! I'm off before anyone finds me and I gotta switch vehicles but that's my stuff. The next time, though, try to pick the phone faster!"

"I apologize but I was having a shower, sir."

"Ah! Eh… My bad. I shouldn't have criticized ya like that. Later."

"Good luck, sir."

Keitai Denwa climbed into the bike and sped away at top speed while laughing under his breath…

22:02 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Mr. Keitai ran into trouble… As expected of the "Committee" and Cousin… They always hold the ace in their fingers…"

A man on his 20s who had brown hair and struck as being around a meter and eighty tall was standing in the balcony of an apartment building and looking out into the night skyline.

He was sporting sunglasses despite the late night hour, a grayish hat with a brown stripe and a grayish trench coat over a black suit plus brown shoes: his hands were stuffed on the pockets as well.

Some of his hair could be seen: it was colored brown.

"How was that line again…? Ah. True, true… "Bring this sword to the ones who made it and tell them this: your ace-in-the-hole is gone!" … Heh, heh, heh… I'd like to tell that to someone… Lacking their ace-in-the-hole means that their probabilities of winning are lowered…"

He then headed back inside of the barely furnished apartment which contained a sofa, a desk and a chair plus a VAIO laptop set atop it: he sat down on the chair and typed into the laptop to bring up aerial footage from the Hikari twins' bedroom which was currently empty.

"Our beloved gentlemen haven't gotten back here yet… But they will be tired and even more when they have to attend to their class tomorrow morning, too… Good luck, gentlemen."

He switched screens to Hiro's bedroom which was also empty: he distractedly tapped the edge of the table with his fingers.

"I, "Hades", will remain in the background. I will not take a step forward into the foreground. Heh, heh, heh… Let Cousin handle this little club which will prove to be an intriguing collection of persons… Our beloved gentlemen! Enjoy this show… While you can…"

He chuckled under his breath and then shut the laptop down along with the lights thus letting the blackness creep into the apartment to camouflage his figure…


	8. Chapter 8: Unexpected visit

**Chapter 8: Unexpected visit**

08:02 AM (Japan Time), Monday June the 20th…

"… Fua~h… Who the heck is the imbecile who tries to undermine our work by writing silly percentages of deficit in the weekly reports? When I find them I'll kick them out: it has to be a ploy by Samsung!"

"Eh… But we do not have proof of it, Enzan – sama…"

"I was rambling, Blues."

"I apologize, sir."

"Jeez. You are way too rigid. You need more flexibility! Or is that a result of the old man's messing with your coding?"

"Eh… I do not know, sir…"

"Blues – sama: trouble, sir!"

"What? What trouble?"

"W-well… That is…"

"BLUES – SAMA~!"

"HUH? W-what's going on?"

Ijuuin Enzan had been grumbling aloud inside of his IPC VP office as he drank a cup of coffee and checked some written reports: Blues had been speaking with him but a Security Navi had rushed inside only to be run over by a hysteric group of female Net Navis all holding white notebooks and pens.

"Please! Sign!" They chanted.

"Eh…? Huh…? Excuse me, but… Why do you…?"

"You haven't been told yet? We know you are going to be Agent 008 in the next James Bond movie: _Skyfall_! And that Gospel Shuryou will be the mastermind behind Javier Bardem! And Zero – sama will be his right – hand man! Ms. Broccoli's little brother tweeted that!"

"NO WAY!" Enzan uttered.

"I t-think there's a misunderstanding, misses…" He tried to sound polite but was totally baffled by now.

"No! There's no misunderstanding, sir!" They replied.

"Eh… But… Did you make sure that…?" Blues asked.

"It HAS to be, sir!"

"I doubt it…" He muttered.

"Please sign!"

"I have nothing to do with the James Bond movies!"

"But Mars Warrior – sama wrote that…!"

"Mars Warrior! But that guy is the Akihara Middle School terrorist behind the incident in Friday! He ain't the producer's little brother! You have been fooled!" Blues growled.

"NO WAY~!" They shrieked.

"Please leave! This is a restricted area! You could be charged with illegal entrance and harming of security staff!"

"KYA~H!"

"Nyah, hah, hah, ha~h! Yeah! Get the rubbish outta the way… This is a battle between the great me and you lowlife…" A manly voice suddenly rang out.

"Huh? Who goes there?" Blues demanded.

"Calling on Killer Man Omicron – sama~! Nyah, hah, hah, hah! Festival, bloody festival! Manslaughter! Assassination! Learn the skills of Shadow Man – sama's only apprentice!"

"Shadow Man's apprentice?" Blues gasped.

"Hah! Here I come, "Ace" Official Net Battler… I'll prove that title is nothing but rubbish!"

The Net Navi named Killer Man suddenly dropped into the area from a higher level and faced Blues.

His face's skin was red in color while the edges of his face were colored purple: he had normal eyes with black shapes drawn below them and teeth but a maniac smile was drawn upon his face: part of his "hair" scaled down to form a nose and two small red "horns" emerged from the top of his head.

He was shaped like an _oni_ from Japanese folklore given how his "skin" was just combusting grayish flames: his main body was shaped like a sphere colored purple, and having a green eye with red edges drawn on the chest: the lower half of it was colored gray.

His shoulders had two curved axe-like formations attached to them and he carried three purple armlets over his forearms and wrists interconnected by a metallic slabs chain.

His legs had four circle-shaped pieces of armor starting at the hips and stopping around knee which progressively decreased in height on each leg: his feet were curved-shaped blades with two reddish curved lines drawn on their surface: the upper one was shorter in height than the lower one.

He carried a scythe with a black stick and red body with a purple-edged green eye set on it plus he had a "Hyper Mode device" embedded into him where the chest emblem should be at.

To sum it up: he looked like the Grim Reaper himself and gave off a sinister vibe.

"One of the missing Net Navis: Commissioner Kifune mailed me the whole list! Blues! Your mission is to disable the enemy's battle capabilities and capture him alive." Enzan turned serious.

"Roger, Enzan – sama!"

"Come! Crimson swordsman!" He taunted.

"Battle Chip, Neo Variable Sword! Slot In!"

"Hyper Mode: activated! Hyper Killer Death Beam!"

Killer Man drew a purple hexahedron with four spikes on the NW, NE, SW and SE corners and a purple spot in the middle of it which was supposed to form an eye's shape: a ghostly blue stream of energy came outta it and flew straight for Blues.

"Sonic Boom!"

"Hyper Hell's Sickle!"

Killer Man swung the scythe next and shot a swing of energy towards Blues: his Sonic Boom split the "Hyper Killer Death Beam" in two halves and clashed with the "Hyper Hell's Sickle" to make both of them blow up: Blues also jumped into the sky and thus the two halves of the first attack only blew up a wall nearby: Killer Man was unfazed since he was jumping into the air, too.

"Nyah, hah, hah, hah. Festival, festival!" He laughed.

"I preferred Shadow Man's dryness to this guy's craziness." Blues sarcastically muttered.

"Totally." Enzan agreed on it.

"Nyah, hah, hah, hah! Take this! Hyper Death Killer Beam!"

"Battle Chip, Dream Aura!"

"Useless!"

"What!"

"The Dream Aura…!"

Blues was surrounded by the transparent glow of the "Dream Aura" Battle Chip but Killer Man's hyper-powered attack blew it up: he suddenly used his left hand to pick a grenade out of a belt and pulled the safety ring off with his teeth: he tossed it towards Blues and immediately tossed a second one.

"Blues! Dodging pattern!" Enzan commanded.

"Roger, sir!"

Blues jumped backwards and was able to dodge the detonation of both grenades which formed puddles of "Omicron Factor" into the area: Killer Man then drew what looked like a P90 sub-machinegun and began shooting bullets around which formed some smaller stains of "Omicron Factor" upon hitting the floor and cracking open: Blues brought up his shield and managed to bounce some of them off.

"That guy's been armed to the teeth!" Enzan cursed.

"Nyah, hah, hah, hah! I'm an assassin: it's stupid to rely in just one weapon which can be broken! That's why I carry multiple weapons for all situations!" He laughed.

"Che! Sonic Boom!"

"Heh! Hyper Hell's Sickle!"

Both attacks clashed and blew up: Blues brought up his shield to block the swing from Killer Man's sickle and then suddenly shot him the Tank Cannon Battle Chip at him at close-quarters: the blast crippled the control device and Killer Man howled as he stepped back and used the scythe as cane to lean while he clutched his chest with the left hand: he looked rather angered by now.

"You lowlife… Did you think we're idiots?" He growled.

"Yeah. You depend on that corrupt power. Once you remove it you become easily beatable like any other Net Navi. Sonic Boom!"

"Gruh! Hell's…!"

"Slow."

"Guwa~h! WHY, YOU~…!"

Blues' attack was faster this time around and it hit the upper body of Killer Man while pushing him into the ground: he managed to stand up somehow while panting but suddenly formed a smug smile as he drew the P90 and pressed a button on its body.

"Hra~h!"

"Shield!"

"Useless!"

"What!"

The rounds pierced through the shield and Blues had to quickly discard it to then jump away to avoid being grazed or hit by the bullets: Killer Man began to laugh in a maniacal manner.

"I added armor-piercing ability! No shields can stand up to the great me anymore~! Nyah, hah, hah, hah!" He laughed.

"Che! What a bothersome guy…!" Blues growled.

"Don't get carried away, Blues! Your goal is to reduce him and capture him: remember that!" Enzan commanded.

"Roger, sir!"

"Is that all? What "ace" Official Net Battle when you lowlife were beaten by a silly rookie with no special abilities whatsoever? A rookie who needs his useless hide to saved? Huh?" He taunted.

"Shut up!"

"Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In!"

"Dream Swo~rd!" Blues roared.

"Useless! Take this…!"

"Hrah!"

"Uwa~h!"

Blues managed to hit the ground with the Dream Sword Program Advance and attack Killer Man with it: he roared and dropped into his knees while trying to recover his breath and cursing.

"You lowlife… I still have 520 HP left! Not yet! Festival, festival! Bloody festival! Manslaughter!" He roared.

"Enough." A voice rang out.

Shadow Man suddenly appeared on the field with a cloud of smoke and having his arms folded.

"What the…! Shadow Man – dono…?" He gasped.

"Get a hold of yourself, Killer Man." Shadow Man commanded.

"Hmpf. Foolish one…" A voice rang out.

"Gu… Gua~h!"

Some black spots formed around the broken device and began to crawl across the surface like they were ants: they quickly vanished and revealed that the device had been fixed thus Killer Man entered "Hyper Mode" again: his eyes turned into ghostly blue energy and his body mass began to turn into that color, too: two skeleton-like wings formed on him as well as a tail: Killer Man stood up and suddenly flew forward while brandishing his scythe.

"DIE~!" He roared.

"Hmpf." Shadow Man was unimpressed.

He was hit but a cloud of smoke ensued and a log fell into the ground on his place: the real Shadow Man threw six _shuriken_ in a row at Killer Man's back and he howled: he whipped around and tried to hit Shadow Man again only to hit another "double" and get the _shuriken_ embedded into his body: Killer Man repeated the process but Shadow Man seemed to foresee each and every one of his moves given how he only waited for Killer Man to his "doubles" and then strike back without excessive effort.

"Stay still and I'll behead you lowlife~!" Killer Man roared.

Shadow Man remained silent and let the process repeat until he suddenly drew the Muramasa Blade which was already glowing.

"My new technique: all damage inflicted to the "doubles" will sum to my Muramasa Blade. I will put you down here and now, Killer Man, my apprentice!"

"STOP MESSING WITH ME~!" Killer Man roared in a fit of pure anger and hatred.

"Muramasa Blade. Hah!"

The energy slice produced by it headed for Killer Man and suddenly shifted into a _kunai_ which drove into the control device and entered the body: Killer Man roared as a soothing white light emerged from the wound and began to encompass his body: the blue glow faded away and Killer Man's eyes slowly returned to normal: he made a guttural sound before he collapsed face-down on the ground.

"A prototype vaccine program by the Science Labs… It'd seem it has worked rather well." Shadow Man merely commented.

"… How did you know he was here?"

"You are a renowned Official. He would feel prideful of defeating you when I barely was able to." Shadow Man shrugged.

"Like he said… And we'd gotten reports that you were being attacked so I rushed here knowing it was Kirisaki's Net Navi. It involved me as his master." Dark Miyabi added over the holographic screen.

"Phew. What do we do with the "Omicron Factor" which he's spawned during the fight?" Enzan asked.

"Simple. Use Flame – Attribute Battle Chips and burn it away: it's highly flammable, after all."

"Roger."

"I'll be going. The Science Labs will pick Killer Man up and study him to see if there's something else they need to heal. But you did a good job of standing up to him, though. I'll praise you." Shadow Man announced as he stored the _katana_ back into its sheath.

"And while you're at it… What do you know about the "Death Club"? Are Mars Warrior and Venus Warrior part of it, after all?" Enzan asked.

"Correct."

"The Committee's Mr. Denpa contacted me with information he'd gained directly from Zataki – dono… Their real names are Kurayami, Kanaya and Death Shadow." Miyabi explained.

"I see. By the way… I heard something vague on the news about a certain "Sunset Mansion" having held a meeting of some parties with a human agent of the "Death Club"…"

"Oh? That? It's laughable, really."

"Huh? Why?"

"There was no such human agent. The one who set that up was a former double agent involved in some story between the "Committee" and their rivals… The laughable part is that he fell for the same trap the _Norwood Builder_ did… They made it look like the kitchen was on fire and lured him out…" Miyabi laughed.

"Whoa. A trick from the 19th century which works today, too… That's something!" Enzan whistled in surprise.

"We apologize for the delay! We'll take this Navi to the Science Labs ASAP, sir!" A squad of eight Net Navis announced.

"Please handle the rest." Blues requested.

The Navis picked Killer Man and carried him out of the mainframe while the crowd from before came back in.

"Shadow Man – sama~! Please sign!"

"Huh? Why?" Shadow Man asked.

"We know you are going to be cast for the role of Agent 005 in the next James Bond movie _Skyfall_!"

"And you're gonna tell us Mars Warrior tweeted that?" Blues asked with a sigh.

"No! Venus Warrior tweeted that!"

"By all the…!" Enzan cursed.

"Those are fake tweets! Both Mars Warrior and Venus Warrior are _terrorists_! _Terrorists_! Don't you know what a _terrorist_ is to begin with, you're telling me? Come on!" Blues growled.

"No terrorist would tweet in the _Skyfall_ website!"

"But that's because the guy is an oddball! Now flee before we process you for unauthorized entry into a private system!" Blues snapped back.

"YIKES!"

They ran off while Blues and Enzan slapped their faces in forehead: Dark Miyabi looked baffled, for once, and Shadow Man looked like he didn't know what to say about what had happened.

"Those guys…!" Enzan grumbled.

"I'd never guessed that." Dark Miyabi muttered.

"Nobody would! They started with Zero, then Blues and now Shadow Man… Who is gonna be next: Search Man as the "Sharo Nation rival" or what?" Blues growled.

"For all we know, those two Navis seem to be close in mental age and appearance to Rock Man, Delta, and their companions so that might be why they go so out of the way to troll people with faked tweets on an official website…" Shadow Man ventured.

"So that's the reason!" Enzan exclaimed.

"Rebellious youth…" Dark Miyabi shrugged.

"I know: they don't involve you. I never understood why there's this need to "troll" people in such an absurd manner."

"Oi! Someone go increase the security measures to avoid further intrusions or someone will end up sacked!" Blues called out.

"Yeah. Explain to us how civilians can get inside in such an easy manner without anything stopping them!" Enzan demanded.

He, Miyabi, Blues and Shadow sighed in defeat…


	9. Chapter 9: Trouble at the classroom

**Chapter 9: Trouble at the classroom **

11:09 AM (Japan Time), Monday June the 20th…

"… Fua~h… I have trouble shaking off sleep. It was hard to fall asleep yesterday with all which happened and so…"

"Uh-unh… I'll agree with you on that one, Netto – kun… What began as a negotiation suddenly turned into manhunt and the prey ran away before our noses…"

"Hmmm… Luckily tomorrow is the last day of this year… Oh… I'll feel so free with being able to wake up when I want to in the summer…! I can taste it, even!"

"Heh! Dekao – sama is the fastest in reaching the school!"

"Dekao – kun. Stop making up false claims. We all know that's a lie and it doesn't impress anyone."

"Wha! Eh… I didn't want to annoy ya, Meiru…"

"Well! Cha aren't proving it, cha know."

"Yeah. I'd worry about the exams if I were you, Dekao – kun. You _always_ forget to write down your name and the date. All teachers are summing up negative points in your file."

"E~H?"

The 1 – A class students were talking during their break time: Netto, Saito and Hiro still looked sleepy, Dekao was trying to boast, Meiru was unimpressed, Yaito countered and Tooru brought up a point which made Dekao's jaw hit the floor.

"Maybe we won't see cha around next year, even!" Yaito formed a sinister smile.

"No way!"

"Way. You only pass by notes and not by merits." Meiru replied.

"Who made that system?" He demanded.

"Come on! It's always existed. It's the same thing across the world, Ookarada!" Yaito told him.

"Ooyama!"

"Ookarada!"

"Why, you…!" He growled.

"Hah! I know cha threaten and all but cha are a third-rated man who happened to be lucky last year! But no – one is lucky forever, ya know, Ookarada!" Yaito giggled.

"Hmpf!"

Dekao sat down on his chair and began to impatiently tap the edge of his desk: everyone ignored him so the twins and Hiro continued their chatter while Tooru kept on reading a book and the girls chatted.

"Ahem, ahem. Evil Pepe has a message for ya guys: we're gonna stuff Calderón back in the big cauldron he came outta from in the first place to then send him via DHL to Washington D. C.!" A voice rang out from inside of the blackboard.

"That voice…!" Everyone muttered.

"Yessir! Everyone's favorite troll master, Mars Warrior, has appeared to drive ya guys crazy!"

"Stop with that nickname. We know you're named Kurayami and you're being hunted by the _Three Musketeers_." Netto told him.

"Ah… What a pity! But all good things come to an end, sooner or later, or so it'd seem… Anyway… Another "accident" won't happen now. That was an accident, you say? That was an inevitably born from you lowlife's vanity. What? It _is_ a good gun. But that engraving provides no tactical advantage whatsoever. There's a difference between utility and decoration. Sh... And, also, you're also having one more fundamental misunderstanding. I won't be killed by you." Kurayami announced in a rush.

"_Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater_…" Hiro spotted.

"Yeah. Good ears, Akashi." He made a mock applause.

"What are you up to this time around?" Saito questioned.

"What… We'll allow your buddies to come out and fight like the "men" they are before ya bring them back to the Science Labs… Isn't that good enough for ya guys?" He shrugged.

"We heard from Enzan about that Killer Man guy… So you plan on doing the same thing while you guys hope to stall for time to move out into another hideout?" Netto guessed.

"Maybe so, Lestrade."

"Lestrade?"

"The Scotland Yard inspector who was one of the most well-known ones yet he tended to be too rushed and sometimes would not see the point of Holmes' approach to things."

"Ah. Whatever." Netto shrugged.

"My, my! What dryness!"

"Show your ugly hide." Saito challenged.

"Not yet."

"Are you gonna unleash a berserk Navi here or what?"

"Berserk? They don't run berserk! Ya must mean "evolved" Net Navi in any case… Or that's how Death calls them. He still insists the logic behind the word "guinea-pig" is that it refers to a species of pig found in the country of Guinea… Can't blame the guy, though…" Kurayami let out while laughing.

"Huh? But he's supposed to be "older" than you two, right?"

"Well… I'd say he's rather "adult" but since he formed upon special circumstances he lacks a real base of knowledge… He only focuses on the concepts which are "necessary" for his experiments. A bit of an oddball if ya ask me. But terrifically efficient. Like Otacon, even!"

"I get the irony. Arms Tech Inc. President Kenneth Baker also described him as being a genius but being somewhat of an oddball, too."

"There goes an expert for ya… By the way! Sakurai! My _aibou_ has a message for you: if ya wanna survive, then there's no other way around but to become the CO!"

"Become the Commanding Officer…? Well… Why not…" Meiru suddenly formed a smug smile.

Everyone (save Dekao) gulped and looked elsewhere while Dekao frowned and looked around, confused.

"Huh? What's going on?"

"You there! Ookarada! What happened in January, 2010?"

"Huh… The Olympics?"

Yaito suddenly stomped his right foot and he yelped: he clutched it and began jumping around.

"I can't stand such a ball of fats and calories being so silly and having made it to 1st grade, even! The Olympics were in August, 2008!"

"Huh? But…"

"If cha mean the Winter Olympics, they were in _February,_ 2010! January, 2010, was when the "DS Navi Affair" happened!"

"Huh? What's a DS Navi?"

"Jeez! Where in the heck were cha back then? In Valencia's Moon or what? Descend back to Earth! You moron!" Yaito complained with obvious annoyance.

"Did ya know _ninja_ are the ultimate scouts?" Kurayami teased.

"Yeah. Raiden said so in _MGS4: Guns of the Patriots_ during a sequence in which Snake had to follow a footprints trail."

"Good memory, Akashi. But I ain't surprised. Given the "ace-in-the-sleeve' ya hold…" He chuckled.

"Hmpf. So what?" Hiro was unimpressed.

"Ah… Hit a spot…" He sounded amused.

"Whatever."

"Whatever the ever?"

"Guess so."

"Maybe the sights of the Vista Mansion will make that mood of yours brighten up?" He laughed.

"Vista Mansion…? Oh. The mansion where Naomi's lab was at in South Ameroupe… I know "vista" means "sight" but that mansion didn't seem to have too much "sightings" of the landscape." He shrugged.

"Did ya know that Nastasha Romanenko and Richard Ames had been married in the past but they divorced? And that Ames set up an improved Command Center in her house to allow her to contact Snake while they monitored him?" Kurayami teased.

"Huh? Was that said in-game?"

"In _MGS2_ there was extra content which included the book "Shadow Moses' truth" which Raiden mentions to the "Colonel" when he brings up why he's so stubborn into telling him not to work with Snake. Romanenko wrote it using the recording she made of the day's whole events and, for some reason or another, Ames let her go along with FOXDIE development data which he handed over. He then vanished from her life once again but it turns out he was the one who forced Campbell to lie to Snake, made the decision of using FOXDIE, he had an "interest" in Naomi Hunter and he also told Jim Houseman, the Secretary of Defense, that his idea of a cover was not of the Patriots' liking so they turned him into a scapegoat to cover up the thing." Kurayami detailed.

"Ah. I see. It'd seem I'll have to look up overseas websites and try to translate them to figure out details I didn't know."

"Heh, heh, heh. But this time I had the upper hand, didn't I? And Ookarada held the fatty hands."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Found ya! No more running away, you jerk! Sigma's come to put ya down!" A voice rang out.

"What the…! Sigma! You lowlife!"

"Surprised? Did ya think we'd be always trying to find ya in the Bermudas when it was clear from the news that ya were here?" Sigma laughed and sounded amused.

"Bothersome meddling guy!"

"That's my motto! Come at full power!"

"Che! I don't have time to waste with you lowlife! Slash Man Omicron, Charge Man Omicron! Delete this Navi!"

"Roger!"

"Yessir!"

"Oho. Not so fast. 2 VS 1 is unfair, don't you think so, Kurayami?" A new voice questioned.

"Brad Shad!" Kurayami cursed in a rather sarcastic tone.

"Jeez! Blood Shadow! That of "Brad Shad" was an aberration Bubble Man made 'cause he's half-deaf!" Blood Shadow protested.

"Hmpf! Charge Man Omicron! Run that blood red – colored jerk over! _Full speed_! _Go_!"

"Slash! Hyper Mode: Activate!"

"Outta the way! Hyper Mode: Activate!"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Come at full power!"

"Come!"

"Oho. I'll let the audience look on at your humiliating defeat… I've got work to do! So long!"

"Battle Operation, Set! In!" Both Sigma an Blood Shadow exclaimed at the same time.

A holographic widescreen formed to display the four Net Navis present in the Cyber World.

Sigma was about two meters tall and was colored jet black: a red spheroid could be seen set on his chest area and it seemed to be missing the armor over it.

His face had two red eyes and one shone brighter than the other: two horns, one of which was almost erased, were set on both sides of his head and added a "demonic" look to him.

Green data flows moved around his body and he held a massive black and green sword in his right hand.

Overall, he seemed to be tall and imposing.

"Demon Rings!"

Blood Shadow, on the other hand, looked about the same height as Rock Man or Delta: his main color of choice was red.

He sported black shades: a flock of messy reddish hair came out from behind the helmet given how it only covered the face and the front of the head: his ear-pads had two purple "V" letters drawn inside of them.

His armor had the purple letters "BS" engraved on the chest area while his legs were colored black and had two red stripes running down the legs' sides in a parallel manner.

His right forearm was covered by a device colored red coupled with a piece of it which was colored transparent red: a small indentation near the wrist had the same "BS" initials engraved there: and, where the hand would be, a large double-barreled shotgun emerged instead.

"Charged shotgun shot!"

"Two of the _Three Musketeers_ came!" Hiro grinned.

"And I guess their opponents are missing Net Navis!" Netto deduced as he lifted his eyebrows.

"So, Ookarda? Wanna bet?" Saito taunted.

"This guy…!"

"Triple Edge!"

Slash Man was a Net Navi whose height struck as being taller than Blood Shadow but shorter than Sigma: his upper body's color palette was lush green plus a vertical red stripe crossing through it.

His face's skin looked "human" enough yet his eyes lacked irises and were colored black: green armor protected the head and two claw-like shapes were set on both sides of it: he had a small red triangle drawn upon his chin, too.

His shoulders also had claw-like shapes set over them and armor covered the whole of his arms: the wrists were colored red and three sharp claws replaced his hands: they looked ready to cut through anything.

He had a small space between the upper armor and the lower body colored black: his legs were covered in thin armor which looked rather reminiscent of pants with yellow patterns running down the sides after starting on the waist: the front edge of his feet had a slight piece of black armor while the rest of them were unprotected.

Like the other "Omicron" Net Navis, his emblem had been replaced by the "Hyper Mode Device" which was embedded into him.

"Crazy Locomotive!"

Charge Man was shorter in height than any of the other Net Navis present in the Cyber World but with a reason: he was built like a steam locomotive colored crimson: the front part of it had his green eyes with black irises set on them plus a nose-like shape: he had no mouth, tough.

Two cylindrical shoulders with a grey cover at their end sprouted from the sides and had pincer-like objects instead of hands at the end of his forearms.

The "Hyper Mode device" had been set on his armored body's forehead given how it seemed to be where the emblem had used to be at.

Overall, he didn't look too "deadly" or "strong".

Sigma extended his left hand and formed some bluish rings which shot out in a row and at different intercalating heights: the rings frizzled with electricity which paralyzed Slash Man when he was about to throw three _kunai_ at Sigma: the black giant then swung his sword and the lateral blow was so strong that it sent him flying across the Cyber World to land, hard, in the ground, two meters further inside.

"Why, you…!"

Charge Man had tried to run into Blood Shadow but a close-quarters blast from his double-barreled shotgun was enough to temporally halt him on his tracks.

"Hyper Grenade!"

"Hyper Volcano Charge! Hyper Panic Train!"

Slash Man threw two grenades into the air which detonated and formed "Omicron Factor" puddles while Charge Man shot some incandescent coal embers colored pale blue from his body's chimney to then form three small black wagons which ran forward towards Blood Shadow: he calmly flipped across the ground using his left hand as support and dodged all the attacks: Sigma had begun to hover some centimeters above the ground to dodge the grenades, too.

"So that's what these guys have been doing… An improving over Nebula's "Dark Chips"…" Blood Shadow muttered.

"Heh! But Boss came up with this antidote program which he handed to the Science Labs, too… Oi! Slashing slash of slashes! Wanna taste my sword's metal? Eat this!" Sigma laughed.

He suddenly warped out of sight and dropped down from above while keeping the blade parallel to the ground: the blow made Slash Man end up in the ground and Sigma then began to smash the ground around him with the sword, cutting his escape routes: Slash Man roared and stood up while looking annoyed: Sigma formed a taunting smile and a twitch formed over Slash Man's right eye.

"Why, you…! Rolling Slasher!" He cursed.

He began to spin around his axis at a mad speed and shot forward towards Sigma: he calmly swung his sword in a wide arch and impacted the waist area thus halting his attack: Sigma then gripped his head using the left hand and lifted him off the ground.

"So! Where's the lab?" He questioned.

"Dunno!"

"Maybe ya prefer a dive into the lava?"

"Uo~h! Sapporo! "Analysis lab Tokeida" server…! Level 8!" Slash Man uttered in rush.

"Thanks! Taste this medicine! Anti-body program!"

"Guwa~h!"

"What!"

"Wait a min. We aren't finished yet."

"Why, you…!"

Charge Man glanced at Slash Man as Sigma used the needles on his knuckles to smash the control device and install the "anti-body program" into Slash Man: Blood Shadow stepped in front of him while aiming the shotgun at his forehead and Charge Man's anger increased.

"Hyper Crazy Locomotive~!"

"Come!"

Charge Man "charged" forward towards Blood Shadow but something in the ground exploded and sent him flying into the air to land with the lower half exposed in the ground: a crater had been left where he'd stepped at and the wound on Charge Man's lower body was leaking "Omicron Factor" at a slow rate but constant rate.

"Claymore anti-personnel mine... I lowered the power and given how you are a machine model, then it was a good system to stop your berserk charges…" Blood Shadow shrugged.

"Hah, hah, hah… So! Brother! You lowlife came: I knew you lowlife would not be settled until you lowlife could defeat me…" A voice suddenly rang out of nowhere.

"Death Shadow…!" Blood Shadow grumbled.

"I think he's copying Liquid Ocelot." Hiro muttered.

"I am not your brother! Get lost!" Blood Shadow yelled.

"Hah! Fine. You lowlife want to be serious… But learn something! My power is steadily increasing. And the location that foolish failed experiment told you lowlifes is a dummy… Did you lowlifes think we would be so foolish so as to tell a test subject the location of our research laboratory? Think again!" He laughed.

"This guy…!" Blood Shadow grumbled.

"Show your hide, Death! I'll smash ya!" Sigma challenged.

"Hah! You lowlife will be the one to be erased from this world. I shall see to it!" Death Shadow taunted.

"Wha~t?" Sigma grumbled.

"Cool it down, Sigma."

"So then! Brother! Have fun loitering around like the fly you lowlife are while our _HD Project_ approaches completion!"

"_HD Project_? High Definition Project…?" Sigma wondered.

"Gotta be a codename… It could also stand for Hind – D, too."

"Farewell!"

"Ran away… Whatever. We need to bring these two to the Science Labs and report to Boss." Blood Shadow grumbled.

"What the heck are those jerks up to? Don't they have enough with doing this to Net Navis?" Sigma grumbled.

A heavy silence lingered around the classroom…


	10. Chapter 10: Break in

**Chapter 10: Break-in**

15:45 PM (Japan Time), Monday June the 20th…

"… Alert! Alert! Break-in in Science Labs Area 4! Alert! Alert! Three intruders detected! Counter the attack!"

"What?"

"Grrrr!"

"The "Omicron" Net Navis…?"

"Let us counter."

"Ya mean: let's show them our power."

Forte, the "Gospel Jr." beast and Zero had been chatting inside of the Science Labs along with a third Navi and his Operator.

"Search Man! Combat procedure."

"Roger, Laika – sama!"

Search Man was a military Navi.

His helmet included a band around the forehead which circled the whole diameter of the head and a band crossing from the middle of the helmet to the other side thus forming an arch: the pads were placed clearly above the ears in this case: orange-tinted hair could be seen covering the sides and read part of the head: the iris color was red yet the eyes almost looked like camera lenses.

The Navi also had a pyramid-shaped green spot exactly over his chin, carried a small microphone for radio communication emerged from the right side of his helmet while his left eye was covered by a small piece of an LCD visor which seemed to be there to display information.

His upper body was protected by green body armor which contained some patches of lush green: it had the general form of a protective vest.

Two round metallic plates with a grayish border were placed directly above his shoulders to protect them.

His left forearm had a circle around the wrist and a "scope" sign colored brown and set atop a black circle over the left hand could be seen: his right forearm, in comparison, had a gun built into it which included a cone-shaped trigger: it looked deadly enough.

His lower body was exposed and his black "skin" could be clearly seen starting under the upper torso armor.

His legs, starting at around the hips, were also covered in armor which included two oval-shaped circles around the knees: the boots had a square-like end.

His overall height seemed to be around a meter and seventy tall, more or less.

"No grunts get away from Laika's winter curse."

Laika Search Man's Operator, was a man on his late teens which had blue eyes and sky blue hair.

The neck area of a green shirt could be seen as well as a red cap.

"Hmmm! Tengu Man Omicron will punish evildoers! Such is the heavenly command granted into me!"

"Hah! Ground Man Omicron – sama is gonna run them over and turn them into dust!"

"And Dust Man Omicron – sama will recycle them!"

Tengu Man was surely over a meter and seventy tall.

His head was shaped like a mythological _tengu_'s one: he had a large nose and a metallic jaw which didn't seem able to move: his eyes' irises was plain black with a white dot: an emerald was set on the forehead.

His main body's color was pale brown and he had four round metallic spots on his chest: the base of his neck was colored red.

His shoulders were covered with brownish armor shaped like halves of a cylinder: his arms' skin was the typical black color and his forearms had partial armor over it:

His left hands' fingers were colored red while his right hand had three large _ginko_ leaves set on it: his emblem was repeated in the point where the hand and the _ginko_ leaves extension began.

His legs were covered in armor starting slightly below the hips and stopped slightly below the knee: both sides of each leg had a pattern of three grayish diamonds set on vertical stripe: his feet were shaped like traditional wooden pieces colored red and having a green stripe.

Lastly, two short wing-like extensions appeared from behind his shoulders and seemed to allow him to fly.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah! What can that rusted guy do? I'm ten times better!"

Ground Man struck as being close to two meters tall and had a rather machine-like design to him like Charge Man.

His head had no neck and was protected by a piece of armor shaped like the Alphabet "U" character: his face's skin was white and he had two normal eyes plus an irregular line crossing through it which obviously was his mouth: the edge of his ear-pads was red in color and their drawing was three mountain peaks (the left and right one being identical in height while the center one was taller) drawn upon a black background.

An orange cylinder with a metallic spear on the rear end was built atop his head: the front end had a brown edge and a drill built into it.

His upper body's coloring was metallic orange and he had a brown-colored stripe set on the middle of it plus two trapeze-shaped bases colored yellow turned horizontally and aiming towards the middle of it.

His orange-colored spheroid shoulders had two metallic hexagons set over them with two drills emerging from them: his arms did have elbows and the forearm armor was orange in color, too: his hands emerged from inside of two hexagons as well.

His lower body had tank "caterpillar" tracks built into it and was colored mud brown: the tracks were black in color while the supporting frame was metallic gray.

"Shaddup! Dust Man Omicron – sama is in charge!"

Dust Man was a gigantic machine-like Net Navi, easily close to two meters tall: his main coloring was metallic-like orange plus olive green.

His face had seven golden cylinders emerging from over it plus two normal eyes and a tablet-shaped mouth.

His upper torso had a rectangular hatch-like device colored metallic gray and with two small yellow rectangles set on each side: the hatch was closed and had two pyramidal shapes drawn on it: the structure supporting it, which crossed over the shoulders, was colored olive green and ended in a large heat exhaust occupying the whole of his approximately square body.

His arms ended in orange circles containing five cylinders connecting to an accessory: the central one was colored metallic gray while the outer ones were white in coloring: the right hand's accessory was a metallic disk with four short needles and a hole in the middle: the left hand, however, was the contrary: one central needle and four surrounding holes.

He had a normal waist with a belt set on it and his legs ended in two olive green-colored pieces of armor covering the feet which were shaped like circles and having a small unprotected spot half-way along it.

"What! Dust Man! You lowlife!" Tengu Man cursed.

"Trying to get the glory?" Ground Man growled.

"Yeah! You two are weak!"

"… Which one will die first?" Death Shadow's icy voice rang out.

"Uo~h! Death Shadow – sama!" They all gasped.

"I control you lowlifes' existences… One snap of my fingers… And you lowlifes will forever be erased from this world!" Death Shadow threatened to them.

"We'll fight, sir!"

"Hmpf."

"Hyper Mode: Activate!"

"Hyper Tengu Dive!"

"Hyper Rock Crush Breaker!"

"Hyper Dust Break!"

"Scope Gun!"

"Z – Saber!"

"Hell's Buster!"

Tengu Man flew into the air and then dived towards Search Man who replied by shooting a pink-colored laser from his built-in "Scope Gun" accessory: Ground Man ran forward while activating his built-in drills and heading towards Zero, who shot some energy swings from his built-in weapon: Dust Man tried to hit Forte with his right fist and Forte replied by showering him on bullets.

"Is that all?" They all taunted.

"Che." Search Man grumbled.

"Persistent grunts!" Zero cursed.

"Can't be helped…! We gotta take out the devices. Go, "Gospel Jr."! Bathe them in flames!" Forte commanded.

"Grrr!"

"Uh-oh." The three enemies gulped.

"Gospel Jr." loomed over them and began to bathe them in streams of flames colored yellow, blue, red and green in succession: they shielded themselves in the best way they could before jumping towards the three defenders.

"Hyper Tengu Thrust!"

"Hyper Rock Crush Breaker!"

"Hyper Dust Break!"

"Go!"

"Satellite Ray!"

"Z – Saber!"

"Hell's Rolling!"

Search Man formed a small orbital satellite which shot a green laser at Tengu Man as he extended his nose: Zero countered the earlier attack with the same technique while Forte made the two indented purple wheels hit Dust Man and open wounds on him which began to seep "Omicron Factor" but he didn't seem to care as he stepped atop the growing puddle and suddenly formed what looked like some kind of arm cannon colored black and the barrel of which was glowing with the familiar ghostly blue color.

"Omicron Beam!"

He shot a continuous beam of concentrated and high-pressured "Omicron Factor" at Forte who gasped and looked like he'd be unable to dodge it time yet "Gospel Jr." jumped in the middle of the path and made the shot bounce off the left flank of his armor: it hit Tengu Man's device and it blew up thus making him collapse into the ground.

"I-impossible!" Dust Man gasped.

"G-Gospel Jr.!" Forte gasped.

"Grrrr…"

"Whoa." Zero whistled in surprise.

"… This is the first time I see a Virus actually helping someone out…! What a surprise! And I hadn't realized his armor was _this_ thick, either…!" Search Man was surprised, too.

"Guess it's a result of them having tagged along for over a year by now, I'd say…" Laika muttered.

"Hmpf! You guys may have beaten the old Tengu Man jerk but I'm still at full power! Let's go~!"

"Once more should do it! Omicron Beam!"

"Grrr!"

"Yikes!"

"Gospel Jr." repeated the earlier trick and the beam hit Ground Man's device (set in the middle of his upper body) thus destroying it and making him growl in agony: Tengu Man had recovered by now, too.

"Like we though! You lowlife aim to take all the glory for yourself, Dust Man Omicron!" They both yelled at him.

"Talk about friendly fire." Forte commented with obvious sarcasm and a broad smile.

"I catch the sarcasm." Laika shrugged.

"Silence! Fight!" Death Shadow hissed.

"Uo~h! R-roger!"

"Program Advance! Vulcan, Triple Slot In!"

"Mugen Vulcan!"

"Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In! Dream Sword!"

"Darkness Overload!"

Both Search Man and Zero attacked their respective opponents by using Program Advances while Forte shot his classical stream of purple energy at Dust Man: it impacted him fully on the device (built over his body's central hatch) thus crippling it: the three of them panted but the black spots formed over their broken devices, thus repairing them.

"How _naïve_! Did you lowlifes really think I would not think of repairing this weak spot?" Death Shadow taunted.

"Who knows?" Forte teased with a grin.

"What? What are you lowlife planning to do?"

"You may repair the device… But we have an insider over there, ya see!"

"It could not be…!" Death Shadow seemed to guess what Forte was getting at.

"What, what?" Kurayami asked.

"Those guys…!" Kanaya cursed.

The infected Net Navis' devices suddenly began to glow with a white light and all blue coloring vanished while the pools were set on fire: the Navis collapsed into the ground while their devices cracked and stopped functioning.

"Heh! Our recent attacks had the anti-body program installed into them so they got installed into them and were purged from the inside thus rendering you guys' repairs useless!" Forte grinned.

"This _is_ a strategy." Laika grinned.

"I find you peoples' attempts to be pathetic." Search Man drily told him while looking unimpressed.

"Yeah. You're fired." Zero added.

"Why, you…! Whatever! Our tests are proving that it is possible to strengthen Net Navi with "Omicron Factor" but we will exploit the random mutation method…! Prepare to meet you lowlifes' nightmares! The new "Omicron" Net Navis will evolve with each attack and eventually become immune to all attacking!" Death Shadow exclaimed.

"Save for their own, obviously enough." Forte smiled.

"This _western cloaked bandit wannabe_…!" Kurayami cursed.

"Shaddup." Kanaya snapped.

"You two be silent and stop using my line." Death Shadow sentenced with some annoyance.

"Yeah. Buy yourselves an iPhone!" Forte taunted.

"WHY, YOU…!" The two of them complained.

The group smiled while Death Shadow hissed in annoyance…

17:44 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Man! I'm bored. I thought these Navis would be interesting stuff but they're being beaten so easily! They better hope that their plot, whatever it is, it's powerful enough to turn the tide around… I dunno what to do anymore! I don't wanna make a bold move and let the "Committee" guys catch me and force me to undergo a debriefing to confess how much info I leaked to my old bosses…!"

Keitai Denwa was lazily zapping through TV channels inside of a rather unpolished apartment somewhere: his beard and moustache had grown a little thicker and he looked like he wasn't taking care of his looks or hygiene a lot.

"I need some thrill!"

A cell phone rang and he lazily sat up to walk over to the open suitcase where it was stored along with an iPad: he checked the calling number and sighed as he picked it up.

"Hades? Whaddya want outta me?"

"I am calling in a bad moment, perhaps?"

"Nah. Had nothing better to do… So?"

"Very well, then… You desire something worth your time and which has an element to thrill to it, sir?"

"Yeah. Get to the point."

"Break-in plus installing of a little program in a concrete house and specific PC… And the house might have an out-of-the-ordinary security system. But rest assured! It isn't a millionaire's house…" Hades told him.

"Hmmm… I used to do that a lot for my bosses before they promoted me to double agent… Sounds like a return to the good old times, even, by the sound of it… Whose house?" He questioned.

"Cousin's Japan residence. He is in the Bermudas, where he owns a small research institution, and won't move from there…"

"Mr. Sponsor's? Ya got my interest. I'll finally be able to see behind those curtains which both the "Committee" and the Net Police have set up everywhere I look into…" Keitai Denwa formed a smug smile.

"Then I will send you the info along with a new phone number: it may be bothersome to change it after each call but one wishes to be on the safe side, my good sir." Hades replied.

"By the way! There's one thing I forgot to ask ya. How many years old Zataki is?"

"Cousin? Hmmm… I believe past 24 and maybe closer to 25… He is some months older than me." Hades replied.

"And if he's been the Mr. Sponsor ever since I came in around 2008, then he was even younger… What is the guy, the son of a CEO?" Keitai Denwa asked as he frowned.

"… Correct. Yet he changed his surname and came up with that alias because he doesn't want to be linked to his predecessor. That's why he's been helping the "Committee" for a while already instead of directing that lawyer agency." Hades confirmed with a hint of amusement.

"Heh! I knew it. My hunches always end up being correct. Fine. Send me the exact data. But I want something on exchange."

"Both of us will have full access but we need to be discrete and rationalize our usage. I will take care of any trail covering by diverting trails to busy servers which will take a long time to investigate, my good sir. Count on a nobleman's word, my good sir." Hades gallantly announced.

"Perfect! I like this. Later!"

"Take care, my good sir."

Keitai headed over to a small bathroom and looked at the mirror for some seconds before forming a smug smile.

"Yeah. I need a shaving. I'll look cooler than Daniel Craig, even!"

He laughed aloud at his own joke…


	11. Chapter 11: Pawns

**Chapter 11: Pawns**

07:47 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday June the 21st…

"… Heh, heh, heh! I'm a genius, yessir. My little device which provokes an overload of the electrical line and makes the safeguards kick in worked perfectly. And no – one has noticed anything because this grid of the electrical network feeds houses which are on sale… Heh, heh, heh. I'm a genius! Alright… Let's sneak into Zataki's house and see what tastes he has… My. I sound like a fashion magazine reporter, even!"

Keitai Denwa, sporting black sports clothing plus a cap was glancing at a house amongst a row of almost identical houses somewhere: this was the only one which had an owner as evidenced by the name "Zataki" on the mailbox.

"Let's bring out our little tools!"

He took out a set of lock-pick tools from his right pocket and forced his way inside of the house: he took out a pair of white plastic gloves and a flashlight which he used to make his way through the house: the first stop was a small living room which contained a typical wooden tea table placed on the exact center of the room and four _tatami_ cushions placed at each end of the table: there was a drawer set with a white porcelain jar set on top of it at the left of the north doo.

"It's full of dust! I guess Zataki only comes here very occasionally and doesn't give a cent for how the house becomes while he's out! He really doesn't want to behave like the typical CEO son… Heh, heh, heh! This guy's amusing… That porcelain jar might be the only really valuable object here, even!"

He picked it up and looked at its base: the words "made in Choina" were written there and his grin widened.

"What the… He even bought a cheap imitation from a bazaar! This guy must hate the _cliché_ that the CEO son always lives surrounded by fortune and good taste. Were his old man to see this he'd surely explode into pure anger! Heh, heh, heh!"

He left the living room and spotted a half-ajar door which led to some stairs leading down into a basement floor: Keitai Denwa lifted his eyebrows and slowly walked down the steps.

"The safe…? Or more stuff…? Heh, heh, heh…"

He stepped into a room built of concrete and gasped when he flashed the flashlight around the space: a brown metallic cylindrical capsule which was lying in a horizontal position on the ground could be seen there: many wires and pipes were attached to the north end of it and it also had the control panel placed in front of the south end.

"What the… Ah… I see… He's such a _Star Wars_ fan that he even tried to imitate stuff from the films… Definitely an oddball, this guy… Heh, heh, heh, heh… Let's go upstairs and find the laptop already."

He left the room and returned upstairs: he found a small study room which had a metallic drawer set, a small wooden desk and a black cushioned revolving armchair which had the Alphabet "V" character painted there using purple coloring: the desk had a closed Apple MacBook computer on it plus some loose papers separated in different heaps of paper.

"Lovely! Let's check them out: they will help me get an idea of how this guy behaves."

He picked a paper dated "31/07/2009" and cleared his throat before reading it up aloud.

"… EM Radiation in Kotobuki Town detected. It'd seem Gospel has begun "cooking" something up. It won't take long to be picked up by other parties (the Official Net Battlers, the Science Labs)... Given Chief Lezareno's reports, Gospel's Boss let out hints of being working on something important but he didn't want to spoil the surprise…" … Hmmm… I see. So the Committee had access to Gospel's Boss. Maybe they fell for that propaganda, even. Heh, heh, heh! Amusing! Let's see…"

He picked another paper dated "03/08/2009" and flashed it with the flashlight.

"… "Bothersome old man! Manipulating children and turning them into killers… Wily! We'd all been better off had you died when your idiotic Dream Virus blew up back in April! Lartes told me Hikari's life has no danger anymore and that he's finally woken up. Gospel's Boss is being kept in the HQ: he's just a pawn. I can't direct my anger at a child who ended up falling victim to such a jerk. I'm now divided about what to do with that bothersome old man. Do I wait to let his impatience make him stuck the arm outta the window or do I hand the evidence to the Official Net Battlers? I'll think about it. Maybe it'd be best to first find out just why he was so obsessed in creating an army of Forte copies. He must've had something in mind or else the whole thing cost him too much money which he won't retrieve." … My, my! So Wily was manipulating Gospel and it'd seem a kid was the scapegoat Wily had. And I guess he used him to try to kill Hikari… I guess the bandana one, given how the guy showed up on the news back when the Okuden Dam incident… And he wanted to create "Forte copies"…? Forte… Wasn't that Navi who was the world's very first independent Model Navi? I thought he died a long time ago… Dunno. Maybe Hades knows the tale better. Let's hack the computer."

He turned the MacBook on and grinned as he instantly entered the system without any trouble.

"That guy! He didn't put a password! This'll make the job a hundred times easier! Heh, heh, heh! O. K. Let's upgrade the anti-virus first and then we'll install the program which mirrors this HDD into a remote server where Hades can pick the data and look it up and so can I. Too bad, Zataki! We'll know what you've been up to and what secrets ya hide… What a pity! If only ya had bothered to come up with a password… Your laziness has beaten ya!" He laughed at the discovery.

He worked with the laptop for a few minutes and then plugged an USB pen-drive into it: he executed a program and then made a status bar show up onscreen.

"11 minutes needed… Good. Let's keep on reading this guy's notes 'cause they're turning amusing. And I'll get an idea of what goes on that guy's mind, too!"

He picked another paper and read it aloud.

"… 20/08/2009… "I've managed to ID all the grunts Wily has gathered for his "new" WWW organization. Inukai Takeo & Beast Man EXE. Saiko Rei & Flash Man EXE. Anetta & Plant Man EXE. Sunayama Noboru & Desert Man EXE. Drill Man EXE. Bubble Man EXE. And I've found out that bothersome guy's goal thanks to the _Three Musketeers_… Steal Proto! He wants to steal Proto AND resurrect that beast-like-thing to hijack the Internet! He's looking for the Tetra Codes and the real Forte. I now see why he wanted to recreate Forte: only he can overcome the "Guardian Program" which is the last contention keeping Proto sealed up. A copy wouldn't have the array of experience and techniques the original has and they'd most likely fail in the attempt. But I won't make it easy for that bothersome old man: I promise!" … My, my! I dunno what this "Proto" is either but from the sounds of it I guess it's something which was supposed to never be awakened again… "Tetra" meant "four" in Greek, so I guess Wily was looking for four codes needed to do that." He read.

He looked up at the MacBook's screen and tapped the mouse-pad to de-activate the screensaver (the Apple logo) and return to the desktop (also having the default Apple logo as background) to check on the copy's progress.

"7 minutes and 10 seconds… Good. Next is… 26/08/2009… "The Science Labs finally completed their "Dimensional Area" and "Cross Fusion" technologies. Mr. Denpa did me a favor and set up a little "test" for Hikari and Ijuuin so that they could "inaugurate" their new "Cross Fusion" forms and abilities. He made them sweat a bit and dropped a little hint. I must say it impresses me how deep he knows the character which he looks up to and imitates, Revolver Ocelot. Incidentally, the old WWW squad has been given a chance by the judge to do some community service and have opened a curry shop named "Maha Ichiban" in Densan City. They are under constant Net Police surveillance. And speaking of the Net Police, Hikari got named a Net Savior so he now has the backing of the Net Police to handle Net Crime. Today was a good day! And Wily will end up making a mistake by sticking the arm outta the window, too…" … My, my! So Hikari is a Net Savior…"

Keitai Denwa checked on the laptop again while he hummed a tune as if to add up something to the atmosphere.

"… 3 minutes and 40 seconds left… Heh, heh, heh! Next one is… 27/08/2009… "… By all the! I'd never said it. Colonel Thunderbolt did something totally outta proportions. We've had to punish him by relocating him to a Sharo Nation branch, cut his salary, remove his mainframe access privileges and give him an ultimatum: were something similar to happen, he's fired. All was going well with the "test" I requested of Colonel Talos in the old underground JDSF command center facility. Colonel Botos had been about to evacuate Hikari (who had overdone it when fighting Ivan and Navi, Colonel Talos' Net Navi bodyguards) when Colonel Thunderbolt attacked him from behind! He then took Hikari and actually went and tortured him _just for the fun of it_! I knew such a man who had been a fearful GRU official was a time bomb waiting to go off and he did! Hell!" … Colonel Thunderbolt! I remember the guy: always singing "_kuwabara, kuwabara_" even if there wasn't a cloud in sight or rainy weather forecast… I knew he was member of a boxing club and he was always walking around with that omniscient presence plus that creepy permanent grin! So he wanted to have fun and picked Hikari thus triggering this internal affair! I was outta there by then because my work there covered the period 2002~2008…" He muttered.

The MacBook pinged and he gasped: he checked on it and began to browse through some folders.

"Ah! I see. These are print-outs of occasional daily entries! So I can check the rest from my hideout. Let's shut everything down, cleanse up and retrieve the device before someone in the electrical company notices anything weird and sends a technician over there. But Zataki is an interesting guy, really! He doesn't hold back when writing down things that happened. Hades hit the target when he predicted that I'd be interested in this stuff! Heh, heh, heh!"

He shut the laptop down, put the papers back on their place, checked everything and finally ran out of the house.

_I'm a - GENIUS!_

08:14 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Tomahawk Man Omicron – sama has come! Who is gonna be beaten down by my overwhelming power next? Eh? No – one is gonna come out or what? I bothered to come to the Reverse Square to pick on a fight but there's no – one! Weird!"

"Not weird at all, kiddo. That's because they all run like chicken when they spot me: Cincinnati's butcher!"

"C-Cincinnati's butcher, ya say!"

"Yeah! Instead of being Uncle Sam I'm Uncle Omega!"

"What! You're THE Omega?"

"Sure thing! Even your master is afraid of me when I go into my butchering mode!"

Tomahawk Man was a Net Navi shaped like a native Ameroupe Indian and who struck as being slightly over a meter and sixty tall.

His head's helmet had a red piece over the forehead which also extended downwards until the star of the nose with two white patterns facing opposite directions having a drawing reminiscent of the Alphabet "P" letter set on it.

Two small extensions ran down the sides of his head and they looked like a Native Ameroupean's hair decoration colored white, orange and red: a larger hair decoration piece with the same color combination spread left and right of his head.

His face had two red triangles painted on the lower edge of his cheeks and aiming towards the center of it: his eyes' irises were brown and he had a youthful face.

His upper body was protected by armor colored in an azure coloring: the "Hyper Mode device" was set on the midst of it.

His shoulders were spheroids using the same color palette: his short arms without elbows and having black "skin" emerged from them.

Armor covered the wrist and forearms with yellow discs set on the wrists at the start of them: his right forearm had a large tomahawk built into it as explicitly stating why he was named _Tomahawk_ Man to begin with: it was his default weapon.

He had a thin azure belt around the waist and one piece of armor protecting the legs until the start of the knees: it was shaped like a rectangle aiming downwards: the edges were colored brown and a brown "X" letter was drawn on the center of it and set against an azure background.

The armor over the legs, starting just below the knees, was colored azure as well and it had a curious design: the outer edges had three brown rectangles a small pyramid aiming south drawn into them plus a thin line running down vertically along its length.

His feet were simple brown pieces with the end of the leg armor (which, when seen side from the side, looked like a rectangle with a triangle aiming south) fusing with them midway across their length.

"B-butchering mode…?"

"Yessir!"

Omega was about one meter and eighty tall.

His eyes' irises were blue and they displayed amusement while long blond hair came out from behind him and reached all the way to the floor.

A blue jewel shaped like an inverted triangle was set on the forehead of his helmet which was emitting a cross-shaped flash.

He had a red vest over his mainly black body and red armor over his forearms and boots: two golden circlets were set around his forearms and on his boots as well.

He also carried a pyramid-shaped emerald green saber weapon on his right hand which had white a trapeze base and hilt.

"Che! Whatever! I won't be intimated! Hyper Mode: Activate! Grenade! Grenade! Hyper Tomahawk Air Raid!"

"Where are ya aiming at? Are ya sure ya don't need reading glasses to correct your myopia?"

Tomahawk Man engaged his device and began to fight by throwing two grenades towards Omega while throwing the tomahawk towards him: Omega had only to step left of right each time to avoid being hit and Tomahawk Man's jaw hit the floor.

"H-how can he move so fast?" He gasped.

"Ask Mr. Universe, Sioux!" Omega taunted with a broad grin.

"Wha~t?" Tomahawk Man growled.

"Silence! Fight!" Death Shadow ordered to him.

"R-roger, sir!"

"Yo! Deathly Shadowy~! Was Rome too old-fashioned for you taste? Was Hong – Kong too "colonial" for your taste? Or were the Bermudas too "idiotic" for your taste? And is Sapporo cool enough for your taste? So? What's the answer?" Omega taunted.

"Bothersome meddling fool!" He cursed.

"Ah… I see. Ya came up with the Deathly Hallows…"

"You lowlife… Go, pawn!"

"Hyper Tomahawk Swing!"

"Slow."

Tomahawk Man aimed his tomahawk forward and formed a swirl of wind aimed for Omega but he dodged it and then countered by delivering a four-hit-combo with his sword by slashing upwards, horizontally, downwards and diagonally: he then spun around using the left foot as support and delivered some kicks at the neck, jaw, unarmored section and to his waist: Tomahawk Man groaned and tried to bring down the tomahawk only to find Omega wasn't there anymore and he'd already jumped into the air: he drew a gun-shaped object and loaded it up to shoot out a white energy spheroid which headed for Tomahawk Man.

"Totem – sama!"

A totem formed behind Tomahawk Man and he began to glow with a green aura: he smiled but then the spheroid hit him and _melted_ part of his armor: he gasped in shock but then saw how the totem had been vertically split in half: both halves hit the floor and another shot rang out which barely dodged but the mere grazing of it melted part of his right shoulder's armor, too.

"What the heck is that?" He gasped.

"Raw plasma. Or a well-designed imitation of it, at the least. So? What happened to the earlier confidence, Sioux? You need the _shaman_ to come guide ya?" Omega laughed.

"This guy…!" He growled.

He stepped into a pool of "Omicron Factor" and formed the arm cannon gun which he loaded up and shot towards Omega: the guy merely stepped to the right and tossed something towards Tomahawk Man.

"Heat Grenade. Burn."

The Heat Grenade ignited the "Omicron Factor" and set Tomahawk Man on flames: he roared and tried to put them out by rolling across the dry ground but then, when he stood up, Omega fell from above and landed on his upper body while plunging the sword into the device: the whiteness began to form on his body and he erratically moved around before collapsing face-up on the ground.

"Too bad, Deathly Shadowy~! Uncle Omega wins this round! And next time we meet… I'll settle the score we had pending ever since Rome! So get ready!" Omega laughed.

"Why, you…!"

"Did ya say something, Deathly – chan?"

"Treating me like I was an inferior life-form…! You lowlife…! Laugh while you can! I shall exterminate you lowlife next time around! My power has increased ever since Rome!" He exclaimed.

"We'll see 'bout that!"

"Why, you~…!"

"Be glad Mantis ain't around."

"A mantis?"

"No, no! Psycho Mantis! Ask your _aibou_ about the guy!"

"Kurayami! Who is that character?"

"Eh… A psychic… Can read people's minds and control their actions while moving inanimate objects, too…" Kurayami nervously replied.

"Hmpf! Trying to say I will become a puppet of a weak human… That shall not intimidate me!"

"Ya have some language, Deathly Shadowy~! But I know my "butcher mode" almost overwhelmed ya back then… And we know what that "HD project" is, by the way." Omega teased.

"Impossible!"

"High Devolution Project! You're only managing to return the missing Net Navis to us and ya lose them." He laughed.

"Hmpf! Whatever!" Death Shadow scoffed.

"Whatever the ever!"

There was a "click" noise and Omega frowned before shrugging and glancing at the K. O. Tomahawk Man.

"Don't worry! Kiddo! Vulcan Raven is gonna come and his ravens will decide if ya are a true warrior or not. If not… He'll give you his greetings with the M1 Abraham's main cannon!" He grinned.

"OMEGA! Stop saying nonsense and come back!"

"Sure, Boss! See ya, kiddo! Good nightmares!"

Omega laughed as he logged out of the scene and the man growled something over the radio…


	12. Chapter 12: Sudden bombing

**Chapter 12: Sudden bombing**

09:28 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday June the 21st…

"… Phew! Back home… Took a while but I wanted to buy some stuff by the way… Good! Let's check Zataki's HDD!"

Keitai Denwa stepped into his apartment (which looked a bit cleaner than the day before) and left some convenience store bags on top of the table before booting up his notebook laptop.

"There… Username: Di Caprio. Password: 666999… I know it's a silly combination but… Who cares? 2009… August… 28th… There. Let's have a look… "Meeting with Hikari – hakase was successful. He's approved of the last "test" which Chief Lezareno will carry out tomorrow. He seems to trust my word and looked convinced. I exposed the flaws I saw to the "solution" but he didn't seem to mind them. Colonel Thunderbolt is already on his way to Sharo Nation. We won't have to worry about him for a year's time which is good. I'm going to release Obihiro tomorrow as scheduled: his witness will be enough to shake off any doubts about "Gospel" which the Net Police and the Officials may still have. We'll meet at the house in Thursday and implement the "solution"…" … What "solution"…? Dunno. Maybe Hades will figure it out. Anyway… Obihiro seems to be the brat who was Gospel's Boss… And Zataki most likely didn't want the reputable Hikari – hakase to think of the "Committee" as a bunch of barbarians so he personally went to present his apologies like an employee to his boss… Amusing guy. It'd seem he tends to think of himself as being guilty of almost everything. Heh!" Keitai Denwa read before forming a smug smile.

He switched to another document and left the laptop in top of a small tablet before stretching and picking it up again.

"… 29/08/2009… "Test was a success. Hikari – hakase contacted me and expressed no doubt. He gave me the go-ahead. We'll meet tomorrow and implement the "solution" while I explain to them the details of Wily's conspiracy. We're starting to put tabs into the members given how Saiko was spotted playing stalker"… Playing stalker, eh?"

He laughed and selected a new file from another folder while he drew a cigarette from the package and turned it on.

"30/08/2009… "Solution" implemented. Nothing out of normal detected insofar… They obviously were in joy. They looked like they trusted my word on the matter given how they'd already formed suspicions of someone using Obihiro. Drill Man was the middle-man between Obihiro and Wily. I'm now going to wait to see if Wily falls for the taunts we come up with so that he can be arrested…" … Again with the "solution"… What the heck is that? Hmmm… Maybe it has something to do with that machine on Zataki's basement?" He muttered.

He shrugged and switched to a different file.

"02/09/2009… Bothersome Wily! You're finally over by today. You tried to send an assassin after the twins but failed in a miserable way. But a Gospel fanatic who'd come out of who knows where did get to injure Saito as he protected his brother. But the assassin was the last straw: you asked for it, so I've gone to your accursed island and disabled everything you had there before rendering you powerless and let the Officials and the Net Police finally catch you lowlife… The Net Navis ran away but the Operators are all caught… And the guys will surely destroy each other by wanting to achieve supremacy. Nothing to be worried about! It's over! Over! It's taken time and effort but it's over. _You lose_, Wily!" … Heh, heh, heh! An assassin, eh? The old man got desperate. And a fanatic… What a mix! Anyway, Zataki got angered like never before… I'm surprised that he says he himself took care of all stuff on his island but it must be a way of saying his Navis did the job. Anyway… Wily went down on September of that year, almost 2 years ago… What's next?"

He examined the list of folders and lifted his eyebrows in surprise at something.

"Weird. There's nothing else until past Christmas! It'd seem they managed to breathe free of trouble until then. 27/12/2009… I've visited Dr. Regal, leader of Nebula, the Dark Chip Syndicate, on his factory atop Mt. Fuji. I warned him not to try anything funny. He seemed to realize I could have him arrested a second's notice were I to wish that." … Nebula, eh?"

He exhaled some smoke and placed the cigarette on the ashtray before reading more stuff.

"28/12/2009… What a morning! My accumulating stress and lack of sleep could force me to stay bed-ridden and Lartes had to handle Regal's madness! The day had begun with Omega and Blood Shadow meeting Rock Man (Sigma met him on 09/09/2009) on the Official Square and some chatter. Rock Man reported sighting of Shade Man, one of Regal's "Darkloids" or Net Navis created to be fully compatible with his own "Dark Chips" and "Dark Power" which supposedly made them stronger than average Navis and which was true. Regal must've noticed there were no incidents of Dark Chips turning Navis berserk and making them run away from their Operators, so he sent Shade Man to retrieve one and must've seen the provoking message I wrote into them given how I'd been sabotaging the production process. He then sent Shade Man and Cloud Man to raid the Net Police database and steal the twins' files. But the jerk didn't have enough! He abducted Saito and Netto to try to get his hands on Rock Man but we could lay an ambush for the "Darkloids" inside of the Science Labs. Mr. Denpa kept the guy busy as Lartes got there and the _Three Musketeers_ managed to put the thing down somehow. Yet Regal, being the bothersome meddling jerk he is, had an ace-in-the-hole! An invisible program which infected Navis and could turn them into "Dark Soul" or "DS" Net Navis! Why, you…! Two of them were formed outta Rock Man and Blues, Ijuuin's Net Navi. Our goal is to find them and halt them in their tracks before they can try to free "Nebula Grey" which I sealed to prevent Dark Chip production…! Grah! I need to recover and organize a counter-strategy! What a prelude to New Year's, really! But that jerk's in jail along with the old man, which is his father, too. Rot in there, Regal!" … My, my! What a day! Interesting! So that Navi which "formed outta Rock Man" has to be Delta, then! Heh, heh, heh! Zataki bed-ridden by orders of this Lartes guy who sounds like his own personal medic, even… He must've been about to destroy the whole house in the process!"

He laughed at his joke for a while until he calmed down and looked at another folder.

"… 31/12/2009… Last year of the day and guess what? Some good progress! I convinced Dark Miyabi, Shadow Man's Operator, that remaining a mercenary wasn't a wise idea and he was growing bored of it, too, so he's switched sides. Sigma and Blood Shadow beat Blues' spin-off even though Forte has now absorbed "Nebula Grey" which the two spin-offs managed to wake up. Rock Man's spin-off ran away and Shadow Man had to help Rock Man give the guy a lesson. He ran but since we've got one less eyesore then I feel better. Ijuuin seems to be getting obsessed with lacking knowledge of the Net Police's information sources (us and the Committee) so he wants to play private detective even though he can't accuse the twins of anything. In short: a good day." … My, my! Things cooled down by then, eh? So! How do we start the year 2010?" He lifted his eyebrows in intrigue.

He lighted a new cigarette and leant back on the sofa to read the next file labeled "02/01/2010" while forming a smug smile.

"… Good! The remaining eyesore tried to spring up a lame trap but it ended up backfiring and Rock Man deleted the guy. Forte is still at loose but he ain't worrisome because he only cares about his own survival and won't meddle in other peoples' affairs. Nothing else to worry about. I can finally shake some stress off. Colonel Thunderbolt has been behaving insofar, too." … Colonel Thunderbolt behaving, eh? He must've gotten quite a fright upon being scolded by Mr. Admin…"

He hummed a tune as he distractedly tapped the edges of the screen and then clicked on another file.

"17/01/2010… Forte showed up again, this time in the Secret Area, and he knocked both Dark Man and Yamato Man out cold before challenging the Reverse King, Serenade. I dispatched the _Three Musketeers_ just in case but Serenade had no trouble countering each and every one of his moves without getting a single scratch or having to sweat at all! It was to be expected from Serenade: he isn't the Reverse Internet's Rank #1 Net Navi in vain! The twins came to have a tea, too, and Ijuuin got to chase a bunch of villain wannabes named the "Renegades" for some silly reason or another." … "Renegades", eh? I feel like I'm getting in a hot trail!"

He lighted a third cigarette and exhaled the smoke towards the open balcony as he read a new file.

"18/01/2010… What began as a nice day got chaotic. To begin with, an unidentified Navi with a certain amount of "Dark Power" tried to sneak into the _control unit_ of _that person_ and could escape before the _Three Musketeers_ could corner him. Next: the surviving "Darkloid", Swallow Man, broke into the Science Labs. A while later, the new road Rock Man was walking upon blew up by someone's hands and he fell into the Reverse Internet. Luck had it that both Forte and a smaller "Gospel" were there and that thanks to the fight he had yesterday he was more inclined to listen to Rock Man and then decided to be of some help because he'd recalled his times at the Science Labs. We gotta get a hold on Swallow Man because none of us liked how he burst like that there. Incidentally, we got some help. An Official from Sharo Nation, Laika, and his military Navi, Search Man EXE, will tag with Ijuuin from now on." … Let me get this straight… If Delta was deleted, then why is the guy…? Oh. Someone must've rebuilt him further in the future… Let's check!"

Keitai Denwa had frowned and seemed to stumble upon a contradictory spot only to realize the answer later on.

"19/01/2010… "Another crazy day! It began with the Officials figuring out that Swallow Man's alleged "Mr. Brown" and "Comrade Rupert" plus a conspiracy to resurrect the Soviet Sharo Nation were all a hoax and he worked for Specter Man, leader of the "Renegades". Both then managed to get inside of the old Gospel HQ and fought both of them. But they were too late as the Nebula "Darkloids" had finished rebuilding and they were superior in number and power: they had to run for it. But then, some hours later, something bad happened. A friend of the twins got abducted and got used as bait to lure them into an ambush led by Shade Man! We saved the thing somehow and forced the guys to run for it. We fell for the silly name and mottoes and this was the result. Too close, too close! Hikari and Rock Man pretend to bring Specter Man down tomorrow. Trouble after trouble. Are we cursed or what?" … My, my! Cursed? I guess so!"

Keitai Denwa laughed aloud inside of the apartment…

10:04 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Well! It was fun to take part in this kart race. What could I do next, though? Guess I'll go to the bookstore and pick up a new e-book to read up!"

Delta walked out of a stadium-like building along with several other participants and spectators and was muttering aloud while seemingly thinking of what to do.

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP

"… Is something beeping?"

"Not me."

"I ain't me, either."

"So where's that sound coming from?"

"Gotta be a claxon!"

"Yeah. Guess so."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Three beeps which rang out in a sequence with a small pause between them could be heard and some Navis began to wonder aloud: Delta didn't pay attention to it as he was checking a holographic screen: the beeps turned louder and sounded more tied-together.

BE~EP!

"GUWA~H!"

"GRUA~H!"

"UA~H!"

"UWO~H!"

"KYA~H!"

"KUWO~H!"

A brutal explosion formed out of nowhere and all Navis were hit by thus being sent flying in all directions and landing, hard, on the ground: some were deleted and others got gravely wounded: Delta had been near the outermost edge so he only got some burn marks and was pushed into the ground: the crowds began to disperse in panic and Delta was trying to get his bearings as he was being pushed around.

"W-what's going on?"

"Make way!"

"Terrorists!"

"Run!"

"Flee~!"

"Escape~!"

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP

Delta was pushed into the ground by some of the fleeing Net Navis and when he managed to stand on his fours he ended up facing a small oval-shaped metallic object having a stripe of three red blinking LEDs on the middle of it: he picked it up out of instinct and looked at it while his body trembled and he began to look afraid.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"By all the…!"

He managed to stand up and threw it into the air as far as possible: a spheroid of energy formed on the air plus a 5 meter wide shockwave which cut through it.

"A bomb…? But who makes such bombs?"

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP

He turned around to see another of those explosives and it was too far to be picked up safely so he ran away from it just as it exploded and left a crater on the ground.

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP

"By all the…! There's no end of them?" He cursed.

He ran away and managed to escape: he stopped as he leant next to a building and looked towards the stadium and surroundings: some wounded Navis were still scattered on the grounds close to it and various craters had formed there.

CLANK! BEEP – BEEP – BEEP

"Hell!"

Delta stepped away of the building as another of those fell down from above and next to his right foot: he ran away but suddenly found another one in front of him: he turned to the left and found a bomb so he tried the right to find yet another bomb.

"Battle Chip, Area Steal!"

He warped into a building's rooftop just as the four bombs exploded and he began to tremble and look nervous.

"This can't be a coincidence! Someone's aiming for me! Is there a bounty on my head or what?" He cursed.

"Hah, hah, hah…"

"Who goes there? Show your hide, whoever you are!" Delta demanded as he looked around.

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP

Delta spotted another four bombs set around him and he jumped into an adjacent rooftop to run away as the bombs took out the whole rooftop of the building he'd been standing at: he ran until he was forced to stop and try to recover.

"Grah… Why were we Navis built to get tired of running like humans do? I now wish I couldn't get tired…!" He cursed.

"Hah, hah, hah…"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Two bombs had been placed at his left and right so he cursed and jumped down into the street to take cover just as they blew up and scorched the rooftop.

"W-where do these things come from? I see no – one! Or are they using stealth camouflage…? If only I had IR vision…!"

"Yo! Delta Team! What's the situation like?"

He felt a hand tap his right shoulder from behind and turned around to see Omega there who looked amused.

"Omega! Someone is after me and is setting some kind of bombs on their path!" He exclaimed.

"Bombs?"

"Small, oval-like, they make three short beeps followed by three sharp beeps… They cover about 5 meters and if you're close then you're deleted Navi!" He described.

"Oho. Deathly Shadowy is filling the field with his toys, eh? Yo! Deathly Shadowy~! I'm your worst nightmare! The Roman nightmare~!" Omega laughed.

"What! That's Death Shadow? Can he use stealth camouflage to go around laying them?" Delta asked.

"Nope. There! Hop! Basketball! 100 points for Uncle Omega! How was that, Deathly Shadowy~?"

"You lowlife!"

"E~H? W-what the heck?"

Omega had suddenly picked a spheroid having two grooves on the inner sides and two white spots on the outer sides: there was a small space between each half which emitted light as well: he'd then made it bounce off the ground with his right hand to then act like he was playing basketball: Death Shadow's voice rang out from inside of the spheroid and Delta's jaw hit the floor.

"Death Bomb!"

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP

"Ops. Recruit! Tune the retreat tune! Go!"

"H-hey! I can run out myself!"

Death Shadow's spheroid form jumped into the air and formed another bomb: Omega ran away while pulling Delta along by gripping his right forearm: they escaped from the bomb's explosion and Omega began to look around: he heard a sound and spotted the spheroid bouncing off the façade of a nearby building: another bomb was formed and they ran away.

"Why didn't ya Plug Out, by the way?" Omega asked.

"I hadn't had time to stop and think!" He answered.

"Typical of Deathly Shadowy~!"

"That sounds silly." Delta complained.

"Well! Now ya know his trick: he can morph into that spheroid and lay a huge number of these bombs!"

"Can't you do anything about it?"

"Get outta here first. I'm not Super Man but if I go into my "secret mode" then maybe I can counter him on terms of speed and power like I did last time in Rome. Go!" He commanded.

"No – one shall get in the way now… Die!"

"Wrong. You're the one going down!" Omega shot back.

Death Shadow returned to his normal form and Omega ran towards him…


	13. Chapter 13: Of gel and plasma

**Chapter 13: Of gel and plasma**

10: 20 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday June the 21st…

"… Mr. Keitai? I think it'd be best if you turn on the Cyber City news broadcast. Something worth your time is going on, sir."

"If ya say so… I was about to continue with the January files but I guess they can wait."

"They can, sir. This is a unique event, sir."

"What… The Pentagon has begun a Cyber War?"

"No, sir. Check it out yourself, sir."

"Okay, if ya insist…"

Keitai Denwa was speaking with "Hades" via the cell-phone and looked surprised at his tone: he sounded excited and rallying at the same time, for once: he lifted his eyebrows in surprise.

"Later, sir."

"Yeah. See ya."

Keitai Denwa left the cell-phone on the desk and then entered Internet using Google Chrome: he jumped to an address and brought up live feed of Omega and Death Shadow in a stand-off pose while standing in the midst of a desolated avenue.

"What the… That's Omega! And the blue guy has gotta be that Death Shadow guy…! Hades wasn't kidding: THIS is worth my time! Heh, heh, heh! Let's listen in!"

He picked a pair of earphones stuffed under some weapon magazines and then plugged them into the jack port before bringing them into his ears and turning on the volume.

"… So! You lowlife will try to play the so-called "hero" which always rescues weak worthless existences from meeting their always inevitable _shuuen_?" Death Shadow taunted.

"If ya mean their "end" then yeah, that's right."

"Then come! I shall destroy you lowlife in one blow… Death Missiles! Be gone!" Death Shadow laughed.

Death Shadow drew his arm cannon and began to shoot a stream of missiles towards Omega: he dodged or cut through them as he tried to hit Death Shadow but the guy suddenly hovered a few centimeters over the ground and jumped from spot to spot at maddening speed: he suddenly laughed and hit the floor with his left hand to form thick frozen columns of "Omicron Factor" across the field thus hindering Omega's movements: he grumbled something under his breath.

"Che. As always… You like being troublesome!" Omega grumbled.

"Hah, hah, hah… I have improved since the last encounter with you lowlife in Rome…" He laughed.

"Whatever. Hra~h!"

"Hmpf!"

"Heh! This is getting interesting." Keitai Denwa muttered.

"Death Screw Attack!"

Death Shadow suddenly began to somersault across the air while forming a surrounding of pure electricity colored pale blue: he impacted into Omega and left some indentations on his main body while knocking him away: Omega didn't seem to take notice of the attack and he merely assumed a fighting stance.

"Is that all?" Omega taunted.

"Hmpf. Double Summon!"

Death Shadow flipped towards the left while making an acrobatic maneuver: some light shone from within his body and an identical-looking enemy formed which flipped towards the right instead: both stood up and began to execute a complicated dance by remaining in front of each other while wildly moving around.

"Ya don't change, then! Plasma Shot!"

"Death Spheres!"

Both Death Shadows formed blue spheroids on the muzzle of their arm cannons and began to bombard Omega with them before facing away from each other and starting to shoot out a continuous stream of orange flames towards Omega: he was able to dodge by ducking and his shot impacted into the "Double" given its sudden silent explosion: the real Death Shadow leapt into the air and shot out a straight blue beam which travelled diagonally across the ground: Omega rolled across it to dodge and then managed to stand up to shoot out a spear made of super-cooled ice which barely inflicted a dent on Death Shadow's body: he brusquely dropped into the ground and caused a bluish energy shockwave upon landing which Omega barely dodged by leaping into the air: Death Shadow hadn't wasted a second and was already aiming the arm cannon at him while shooting out missiles.

"Bothersome mouse… Be destroyed!" He exclaimed.

"Ya sound like a _Sengoku_ _samurai_, did ya know that?" Omega managed to form a smug smile and taunt him.

"Hmpf!" He was unimpressed.

"By all the… That Omega guy must be the man who makes the impossible possible. He still has the guts to joke with an adversary that can destroy you as easily as you crush an ant…!" Keitai Denwa muttered.

"Plasma Shot!"

"Death Column!"

Another frozen "Omicron Factor" column formed in the middle of the attack's trajectory and it got melted into raw "Omicron Factor" gel from which a Mettool formed and silently hit the floor with the pickaxe: Omega had landed on the ground and he merely swung his saber to create fins of blue energy which headed in the opposite direction and which sliced the Mettool in two halves: it dissolved into raw gel while Death Shadow kept on hovering above the ground.

"You're like the Dream Virus: summoning lesser opponents to keep you busy until you load your main weapon…" Omega taunted Death Shadow next.

"Hah! I have nothing to do with such a weak existence. The "Ultimate Virus", they named it? What bothersome foolish beings! I am the Ultimate! I am Death Shadow! The will of "Omicron Factor" moves me! I am beyond human limitations… My power is enough to seed this planet with "Omicron Factor" and make it become another "Origin Point"… A planet fully made of "Omicron Factor" which holds its own will and shoots seeds towards the space…!" Death Shadow exclaimed.

"O~h… Scary, scary." Omega taunted next.

"Hmpf! If you lowlifes are still alive it is but a mere side-effect of some miscalculations… But when _HD_ is complete, then…! You lowlifes will taste despair and hopelessness!" He boasted.

"Sounds like a villain rip-off, ya see." Omega calmly taunted back with a growing smile.

"Hmpf! No more games… I shall become serious! Spheroid Mode! Death Bombs! Be gone!"

Death Shadow's shoulder spheroids detached and expanded in size while he crouched and became smaller in size: the two spheroids fused together and it began to glow while eight "Death Bombs" materialized around it before it speeded forward, hit a street light, bounced off it, hit a building's front, and then headed for the one across the street to climb up into one of their rooftops: the eight bombs went off and covered a 40 meter radius in total: Omega had jumped atop a street light and then into the air before the explosion crippled it and he landed in the rooftop opposite the one Death Shadow's spheroid form had landed at.

"Phew. That was close." He muttered.

"Starting to realize your own powerlessness? Too late! Vanish! Death Bombs!"

"Come!"

"As you wish!"

Death Shadow shot towards Omega but he managed to halt him by using both hands and then throw him back at the rooftop where his bomb had been set at: the explosion damaged him but he was seemingly unfazed at the experience instead using the shockwave from his own bomb to return forward and impact Omega in the chest thus forming a considerable dent on his vest: Death Shadow returned to his normal form and bombarded him with missiles next.

"Hah! Weak! Weak! Truly weak! All is over!"

"Grrr…"

"Huh? Impossible!"

The smoke from the missile explosions cleared to reveal how Omega was shining with a purplish/reddish "aura" which had formed around his body: his jewel had turned blood red as well and the flash emitted by it switched to a white color: his sight was lowered and his face was partly hidden but he had a grimace on his face and had the looks of a beast about to be unleashed.

"It'd seem you've forgotten why you three ran away from Rome, Death Shadow." A man's voice announced over the radio.

"You lowlife…! Vadous!"

"Oho! Zataki…" Keitai Denwa smiled.

"Omega's "Dark Messiah" mode… All normal processes are cancelled to free up processor space and he follows just one rule: not halt until the enemy has been destroyed. He will not speak nor be distracted by any thoughts. His power will be unleashed at 100%!" Vadous announced while sounding slightly amused.

"By all the…! Not again!"

"Grrrr… HRA~H!"

"Huh! Death Bombs!"

Omega lifted his sight to reveal that his eyes had become mere blood red stains and he moved forward in a blur: Death Shadow gasped and had to lay a bomb to shake him off: Omega quickly corrected his trajectory by bouncing off a building's wall and swinging the saber across the air: Death Shadow built up kinetic energy and bounced off the ground at a straight angle thus getting shot quite high into the air: he then switched to normal form and began to somersault into the air as if trying to get away from Omega who was being relentless.

"You lowlife… Die! Red Beam!"

Death Shadow built up energy on a device which formed over his left forearm and shot a red-colored beam of energy at Omega which got stuck to his body and began to shine as well as make noise: Omega simply sliced it in half using the saber and Death Shadow barely dodged by dropping into the ground to cause his shockwave.

"Che! Bothersome diehard fool…!" He grumbled.

"HRA~H!"

"By all the…! I need to find how to stop this berserk fool!" Death Shadow began to sound exasperated.

"He ain't berserk! He's simply unleashed." Vadous corrected.

"Shut up, Vadous! Once you lowlife's pawns have been removed then you lowlife are next!"

"They won't make it easy. And I think that maybe you'll end up knowing what exactly happened to the original Shade Man. The one you guys sprouted was an imitation given how there was no factual data to use for his rebuilding!"

"Oho… This sounds amusing." Keitai Denwa muttered.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Death Shadow cursed in a row.

"Death! I'd rather say we pull out! We're not ready to face this beastly guy! We can't let the _HD Project_ end like this!" Kurayami rallied through the radio while sounding nervous.

"Che! I know that. But I hold two aces under my sleeves… Here is what was able to defeat you lowlifes in Rome, now improved… Hyper Bug Bomb!" Death Shadow replied.

He formed a spheroid about the size of a badminton ball which he threw at Omega's body when he tried to drive the saber into him: the spheroid cracked upon contact and Omega's body frizzled as he howled and tried to keep on with his relentless attack yet he was seemingly having trouble with something.

"By all the… I'd forgotten that one!" Vadous cursed.

"Hah! Who holds the upper hand now?" Death Shadow taunted.

"Shaddup." Vadous grumbled.

"Hmpf! How foolish! To neglect the only weapon capable of actually stopping this feral thing… Foolish! I shall leave! But when _HD_ is complete then you lowlifes and this planet… Shall be exterminated! Such is my _raison d'être_... To accomplish the goal of "Omicron Factor" itself and allow for its expansion! Farewell!" Death Shadow proclaimed.

Omega, however, recovered in the blink of an eye and managed to leave a gash spanning from the NW corner to the SE corner which poured out "Omicron Factor" into Death Shadow's body: he growled and stepped back in an erratic manner before turning into raw data and vanishing from the scene: Omega's "aura" began to turn paler and his eyes slowly reverted to their usual blue: he panted and seemed to be trying to get his bearings.

"Uh-unh… This guy… Did he really think I wouldn't build up some degree of immunity after that first time in Rome…? My body is designed to have human-like antibodies…!" He muttered.

"They got away… But we've assessed his combat capabilities. At least we have a more detailed record from which to develop a VR simulation and counter-strategies… Come back here, Omega. You've done a great deal today but let's not force it: you end up blown up after prolonged usage of the "Dark Messiah" mode." Vados sighed.

"I know, Boss…"

"Sir! Any comments?"

"Crap. The DNN…"

A reporter Navi and his cameraman suddenly showed up in front of Omega and he sighed.

"That guy was Death Shadow: and the whole thing spoke for itself. The guy's the boss of the "Death Club" along with the other two who aren't weaklings but this guy is deadlier than both of them combined. Blink twice, you're deleted." Omega summarized with a sigh.

"You looked like you were in a highly stressful state of mind, sir!"

"Yeah. I got nervous." He admitted.

"Anyone would, sir? Your name, sir?"

"Omega. And by the way, that of "Mars Warrior" belongs to me. Kurayami stole it from me to try to blame me but the guys who know me would immediately realize that of Friday was too much even when I start trolling people around. And "Venus Warrior" is an invention because there's no one using that name." Omega warned.

"We see, sir! Are you a Net Savior, sir?"

"Well… Not really. Private sector." He shrugged.

"Thank you for your comments, sir! This was Oharo Doto, reporting live from Cyber City for the DNN!" The reporter then faced the camera and made a reverence.

"Omega! Plug Out." Vadous whispered.

"Roger, _shachou_." Omega grinned.

"Come on…!" Vadous sounded exasperated.

"Hah! He doesn't like being called _shachou_, eh?" Keitai Denwa grinned.

"Come back. Now." Vadous sentenced.

Keitai Denwa looked on as Omega vanished from the scene so he shut the feed off and took off his earphones while looking amused and excited at what had happened.

"What thrill! Heh, heh, heh! Now I see… Omega's true power is truly terrifying! But that Death Shadow was no weakling, either! A clash of titans… Or rather, of gel and plasma? Heh, heh, heh! Man! Now I feel more motivated to keep on digging on Zataki's files! Let's go for the next one: January the 20th, 2010!"

He selected the file and gasped upon reading it.

"… What a totally horrible day! First: all "Darkloids" have come out and showed up at different locations thus keeping the Officials and my _Three Musketeers_ busy. Rock Man beat Specter Man, but it turned out that he was a decoy for the real boss: Delta AKA DS Rock Man! He blackmailed Rock Man by making use of communication jamming and then warped Hikari into the Kotobuki Town building which had belonged to Gospel! Omega and I got there just in time to prevent the psychotic guy and his rebuild DS Blues from assassinating them: but the guy somehow managed to get past me and Omega and abducted Hikari! Rock Man could try to trace his signal but we ended up in decoy places because the jerk messed up with the signal! I know I won't sleep tonight: I need to narrow down the number of places he could be at. And I have to hope I can make it on time to save Hikari!" … My, my! This is… Intriguing! Delta actually pretended to murder them? Something must've happened for them to accept the guy who tried to murder them as their companion!"

Feeling excited, he brought the following one.

"… 21/01/2011… Another horrible day! Even though Commander Barrel of the Ameroupe Network Force had been able to locate Delta's hideout spot it turns out the psycho Delta didn't kill Hikari but rather brainwashed him into believing we're his enemies! They beat him and Colonel EXE and then fled somewhere! I've mobilized the "Committee"… And I won't rest until we find him and restore him to normal! Regal! This is your fault! If you hadn't created that psycho Navi then none of this would've happened! Rot in the brig!" … Heh! Interesting!"

He stood up and walked over to the kitchen to pick a can of coca-cola and then returned to the living room to sit down in the sofa and read up the following files.

"… 25/01/2011… Good news! Mr. Denpa told me they've managed to recognize him even though he's been fooled into changing his appearance… I'm going to take advantage of some surprises inside of the chip the jerk reverse-engineered from me given how I "omitted" some details in the schematics! Your days are limited, psycho! Get ready! This ends tomorrow!" … Oho. I feel the tension building up!"

He took a sip of the can and then checked out the continuation: he lifted his eyebrows upon reading it.

"… 26/01/2011… It had begun well, with Saito managing to get through him along with Mr. Denpa but the psycho had actually _created a split personality_ to him and _locked up the original one_. Using this as his trump card, the psycho and his accomplice abducted Saito and then tried to kill him while also "deleting" Hikari's original personality. I guessed they'd be using the same place as in the 21st given the "nobody looks into the same place twice" motto. That proved to be their greatest mistake! I managed to use a program to freeze Delta's processes and I "wrote off" the split personality, Hikarawa Yami. By "write off" I mean take his program outta Hikari's head and implement him into a "solution" I had prepared time ago just in case but which I can customize with a few hours' time. Phew. Too close, too close! I'll give them a chance: I'll erase their whole memories of these happenings, pair them together somewhere far from the twins and let them build up their experiences from scratch. They were, after all, pawns of "Nebula Grey" and its extensions. They didn't move by their will: they were just that, pawns. Let's hope nothing bad happens but with the safeguards I'm gonna install, then… They could incline the bascule in our favor. What a month! I need some rest and I wanna finish up replaying the _Halo_ games." … Heh, heh, heh. I think I'm starting to grasp what this "solution" is… Zataki! Your secrets are being peeled away like if they were layers of an onion..."

He laughed aloud in an evil tone of voice…


	14. Chapter 14: Finishing touches

**Chapter 14: Finishing touches**

11:04 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday June the 21st…

"… Netto! Saito! You HAVE to see this! Hurry!"

"What's wrong, Hiro…? Hey! Isn't that…?"

"Omega – san…? Then, the blue opponent…?"

"Whoa!"

"Hmpf. Looks like a Robocop wannabe…"

"Interesting!"

"Scary, I'd say."

Hiro had been working with his school laptop when he gasped and called for the others' attention: they all quickly gathered around him to see the footage of the earlier battle.

"Death Shadow! What potential!" Netto gasped.

"He can even morph into a spheroid and deploy bombs…!"

"Yeah. I barely made it outta there alive!" Delta exclaimed as he suddenly showed up on the SE corner of the screen.

"What?" Hiro gasped.

"I'd gone to take part in the kart race when the guy began to chase me and try to corner me with the bombs! Omega came in just in time to stop the guy and help me out!" He explained.

"What!"

"I'm serious! I'd never been more afraid in my life than a while ago! I thought I was gonna be deleted right there!" Delta growled.

"By all the… This is turning crazy!" Saito cursed.

"Totally! And Omega barely inflicted any real damage to the guy, so you can see he's a new kind of enemy altogether…"

"The "Darkloids" must be pale in comparison!" Netto muttered.

"Hmmm? Oi! Outta here! Bothersome mosquito!"

Everyone turned around to see Dekao chasing something using the blackboard eraser: a buzz-like sound could be heard and the "something" was moving around at a high speed: Tooru then picked an empty plastic container and trapped it inside: he gasped and the others realized it was a mechanical-looking dragonfly.

"A mechanical dragonfly…?" Tooru wondered.

"Micro-robot! I'd read somewhere about them!" Hiro spotted.

"Micro-robot? But who could've built it?" Yaito wondered.

"Dunno."

"Can these things work in live?" Saito asked.

"I think so…" Delta muttered.

"Please hand it to me, Tooru – kun. I'll bring it to someone we know: they will know how to handle it." Saito grinned.

"Oho. Good idea!" Netto grinned.

"Huh? What?" Dekao frowned.

"Cha go to Valencia's moon." Yaito challenged.

"E~H?"

Saito grabbed the case and Netto followed him outside of the classroom and into the yard: they then came out into the street and headed for the closest corner where a black Hyundai car was parked: Saito hit the driver's window with his left hand's knuckles and the window lowered to reveal a man on his 30s who wore a black suit, hat and sunglasses: he seemed to have jet black hair under the hat.

"Is something the matter, Mr. Saito?" The man asked.

"Well… It's about this, Karasu – san."

He showed him the container with the micro-robot and the man gasped: he quickly climbed out and looked at it from several angles.

"It's our model!" He exclaimed.

"Given its behavior, I'd rather say it's a well-executed copy and that it doesn't belong to the "Committee"…" Saito added.

"What!"

The passenger (a man on his 30s, too, but having a military haircut to his brown hair and dressed like his partner) came out to look at it, too.

"… Keitai Denwa! I worked with him on a surveillance operation. He could very well have built this, Mori." The driver gasped.

"Yeah, Karasu? Then we should forward this to Colonel Talos."

"Hmmm… Let's call for Umi and Raion. They'll handle it and thus we don't have to abandon our post."

"We'll be going back. Good luck, gentlemen." Saito encouraged.

"Thank you very much." Mori replied.

"Heh! Keitai. Ya still owe me 150 Zenny from our last poker game. Wait and see…" Karasu grinned.

"Oi, oi…" Mori looked surprised.

Netto followed Saito back into the school where their friends were still glued to the screen and looking at the battle: Netto and Saito joined them and looked on.

"That Keitai Denwa guy… Spying on us… With some luck he hasn't found out about our secret…" Netto grumbled.

"Let's hope so. I wouldn't want such an explosive fact ending up in the hands of a guy like him… But… Then again… Who'd want to believe a former agent of an evil organization?" Saito shrugged.

Netto formed a smile at Saito's reply and he blinked him the right eye as they kept on looking at the monitor…

11:11 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Well? Is _HD_ progressing?"

"Totally! 95% complete. We could move there already and handle the finishing touches. It wouldn't take longer than another 4 hours."

"Are _those_ loaded yet?"

"Yeah. I made sure of it."

Death Shadow was talking with Kurayami and Kanaya while inside of the Cyber World which apparently was their base: Death Shadow was leaning his back against a closed armored door and the cicatrized wound of Omega's attack could still be seen on his body: both Kurayami and Kanaya had smug smiles on their faces.

"Good. It has taken time and resources yet _HD_ is about to resurrect those ideas which were abandoned given their "exaggerated" character. We still have _one_ Cyber City Net Navi and the three "Darkloids"… Yet… The Net Navi looks so weak and is not properly integrating with the "Omicron Factor" so I shall label it "failed experiment". I shall throw it out there just like that. Any objections?" He exposed.

"None." Kurayami quickly replied.

"Go ahead. We don't need weaklings." Kanaya shrugged.

"Good! We can also pit those three bothersome pursuers against the three "Darkloids" to keep them busy as we transfer into _HD_. How is the main weapon?" Death Shadow asked.

"Well… It's pending the cooling system but that will be completed in about 2 hours from now…" Kurayami reported.

"Excellent. All is going faster than I had predicted. The use of nanomachines is proving to be an efficient method to speed up construction. Plus a Net Navi crew to finish up the Cyber World…"

"Of course. And since no silly activists are going to start a protest over this, then…" Kanaya giggled.

"Why would they?" Death Shadow asked.

"They'd equal it to "slavery" and would call it "regression of Net Navis' rights" amongst other things. Believe it or not, the UN passed a chart some years ago when Net Navis began to evolve into having a conscience of their own. So they'd say we're going against the UN. We don't need that kind of publicity, do we?" Kurayami shrugged.

"If you mean the world knowing beforehand of _HD_ and robbing us of the surprise factor, then, true. We do not need such things." Death Shadow summarized.

"But politics are politics: reality is always different, ya see. Tee, heh, heh, heh…" Kanaya giggled.

"Let's not bother Death with such pointless stuff and move on into the practical aspects. Let's send the "Darkloids" to wreck some chaos into the Okinawa Islands. By the time they get there and beat them to then get here we'll be long gone." Kurayami cleared his throat.

"I like that strategy. I shall go and put the final adjustments to the "Darkloids" before transferring to _HD_… Hah, hah, hah…"

Death Shadow turned around and hit the door with his left punch to open it inwards: he hovered inside and it locked behind him: Kanaya quickly glared at Kurayami who looked nervous all of a sudden.

"Ya said 4 hours, right?" She suddenly asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"There's time to go the club and play." She grinned.

"… Roger." He drily replied.

"My, my. Foreseeing your fate?" She joked.

"… Maybe."

"Tee, heh, heh… It'll be fun, ya know."

Kurayami sighed in defeat while she kept on giggling…

11:19 AM (Japan Time)…

"… "03/05/2010"… Heh! From the end of January to the start of May there's nothing but rather trivial things… Let's see… "What bothersome meddling guys! Regal's been broken out of jail, Delta met DS Blues and even though it's impossible for him to remember anything, they must've made contact with the leadless "Renegades" to then help Regal break out. They must logically think Regal knows something about their past even though he can't. Who knows what will happen next!" … Heh! So things turned awry for ya again! Eh, Zataki?"

Keitai Denwa was still reading the diary entries while smoking a cigarette: eight cigarette butts could be seen on the ashtray.

"… "17/06/2010… The twins have ended the course and passed 6th grade. They'll be starting middle school in September. Neo Nebula has made a move but Forte somehow managed to drive them away. We can't really complain since they're only relying on guerilla warfare for the time being and can't produce new Dark Chips. Hikarawa and Regal dared to show up in Maha Ichiban's but didn't do anything: the kid must believe the twins know something about him. But thanks to their recklessness we can stalk them into their hideout. Not bad." … My, my. So they made a false move which backfired into them, eh? What's next?"

He sipped some of the coca-cola and sounded refreshed before he brought up the next one.

"… "18/06/2010… A totally crazy day! It started well: Forte cornered DS Blues and got to Neo Nebula's hideout to blow up a rebuilt Nebula Grey: his impressions of Delta and Hikarawa make me believe Nebula Grey has triggered a "censored" memory which might shake his beliefs and he now seems to be unsure about tagging with Regal. They have switched hideouts by now. But a while ago, around 11 PM, Shade Man lured me to the Nebula HQ. We had a little skirmish and he ended up damaging my "device" so it turned berserk: I got outta there and the device went off but not before Nebula Grey (through Shade Man) claimed that it was gonna place a curse on all of us. Lovely evening! Now I know that bloody program is gonna make life impossible for me." … Oho…"

He lowered the laptop and brought a hand to his right chin while having seemingly realized something.

"I see. "Curse" is a figurative word here but it means that Nebula Grey, being a shape-shifting program, can approach different parties and subtly manipulate them into causing a ruckus. Maybe me and those three guys have been pulled into this 'cause the thing wanted to and may have sneaked into my computer to taunt me with the info I used to lure those guys to the mansion… Heh, heh, heh. And that explains that mysterious happening to Nebula HQ which showed up on the next morning's news, too! Let's keep on: I'm _so_ thrilled!"

He picked a Makarov from beneath a pile of magazines and checked that it didn't have a clip or any bullets on its chamber before toying around with it for a while: he then tossed it into the table again and picked up the laptop.

"… "19/06/2010… What a panorama! I woke up and saw what happened to Nebula HQ. After a prolonged analysis, my supercomputer reached a conclusion: _the missing section is still there yet in invisible state_. Were someone to step there they'd find themselves walking into the air but all around them would be solid: the atomic structure is fluctuating between normal state and an opposite state. Shade Man's gone forever at this rate so one "Darkloid" less. Guess this will scare Hikarawa and Regal into thinking it was retaliation..." … Oho… So that's the explanation!"

He extinguished his ninth cigarette and lighted up his tenth one: he exhaled smoke and gasped upon reading it.

"… 20/06/2010. It's over. What a long day! It started with Neo Nebula kidnapping a friend of the twins to lure them into their reach. Regal then blackmailed Hikarawa into obeying him and cooperating in making the three of them fall into a trap. They escaped using a secret military plane but thanks to Omega (who I transferred there via one of the PETs and used a Copy Roid) we forced the plane to land. Hikarawa (now Akashi Hiro) and Delta surrendered given how Regal backstabbed them. They now are into our side along with the "Darkloids". Regal's back into the brig, too! Phew!" … Ah… I see! So this is why he changed his name!"

He laughed before picking yet another entry.

"… "24/06/2010… The twins have told Akashi the truth but he's slightly shaped it to make it less "burdening" for him and Delta. Commissioner Kifune decided that he would make a good Net Savior and his "Hunter's Guild" project was of his liking, too. They've gone to the beach to have fun today while I can finally shake off all the build-up of tension. It's been almost 11 months since the fall of "Gospel" and we've come to this curious finale. Obihiro is now being partly employed by me as a beta checker: his computer skills prove in handy, too. Mr. Denpa suggested taking the twins with him in a vacation to Barcelona. I gave him the go-ahead. I guess we can have a quiet summer overall. I need to re-focus on the "A" Front, too." … Hmmm… Yeah. And I know what happened next: the Cyber City Conspiracy… The "Secret Army"… And the "Devil Syndicate" before we've come to this present point. Interesting. I guess I'll later call Hades to ask about this so-called "solution" even though I have a vague idea of what's it about…" He grinned.

He put down the laptop and walked out into a balcony overseeing a street: several similar-looking blocks of apartment buildings were built around there, too, but most of them still had "on sale" banners set into their balconies.

"The effects of the construction bubble burst, eh? Whatever. Those guys can't imagine I picked Densan City 6th district as hideout. They'll expect me to have run all the way to Okinawa, even! Heh, heh, heh. Sometimes the closest place is the best hideout. And given how I still keep a good deal of that stolen money, then I can perfectly afford this low-rate rent. Our beloved kids… Play around while ya can. I'm catching up. And I could use this info but the "Committee" would put too much pressure into the Net Police to avoid the publication… Heh! Whatever. I'll now focus on settling the score with my old bosses once I find out their real names. "Supervisor 0345", "Directive 0113"… What silly serial numbers! I prefer a real code-name system to such silliness. What are we, machines? Nah! Those guys are nuts, believing they are rulers of the world, which they aren't…"

He laughed aloud…

11:25 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh… Ah… What a slip! The control joystick had jammed so that's why the micro-robot moved around in that manner as I tried to regain control of it. Whatever… I set the signal to lead to a Choina agent hidden in Akihara Town who specializes in using these things… I made sure to "borrow" his fingerprints and leave plenty of them in the micro-robot's body… That will shed all doubts away. If not, they will believe Mr. Keitai did it, too… But no suspicion shall fall upon me because I am a non-existent person… Heh, heh, heh."

"Hades" was sitting in a bench inside of what looked like an airport's lobby somewhere: people moved up and down but he ignored them as he muttered aloud while glancing at an _attaché_ case at his right.

"Just to be safe, though, I was planning on moving out into Oosaka. I would prefer to be far from their usual operative radius. It's better to prevent than to heal, after all. And even if Mr. Keitai told them about me, Cousin would rather focus on that entertaining trio than in my person. But by the time he tries to focus on me, I will have already "moved on" to follow my _other _Cousin's trail… To think he made it look like he'd been beaten yet he's "moved on" to stage a new scheme… How cunning you are, Cousin! You haven't changed ever since our little fencing face-off some months ago…" He muttered with obvious amusement.

He shrugged and picked the case to head to the security check: he had to take off his hat and sunglasses revealing him to have calm blue eyes and neatly combed brownish hair: he was clean shaven as well and he appealed as being young yet experienced.

"Next!"

"Good morning. Here's my boarding pass."

"Good. Step through the detector, please."

He did so and nothing happened, so the policeman gave him the go-ahead with a gesture and he picked his suitcase plus the other pieces of clothing on the plastic tray to head to a nearby table.

"Good. I still have 50 minutes before departure. I'll go find the boarding gate and then pick a seat close to it…"

He headed for a boarding gate and sat down on a seat next to it while he took out his VAIO laptop from the suitcase and turned it on to check on something.

"Heh. So even Omega had a hard time fighting such an opponent… We still have to see what those other two are capable of doing yet… That "HD Project" might be their ace-in-the-hole… Hmmm?"

He seemed to frown under the sunglasses for a moment as he read something on-screen but then laughed.

"My, my! Our young black-armored villain is spreading a new pun around there… "Ookarada and Gorilla Man are working in the Gorilla Idiom – Japanese Dictionary. EPD: somewhere in 2030!" … Heh, heh, heh! Amusing, certainly! What's next? Oh. My, my. "Ayanokouji will take over all strawberry milk factories and set up a monopoly (and I ain't talking about the board game, mind ya) for her own benefit!" … I wouldn't be surprised if that happened." "Hades" laughed.

He checked the clock on the SE corner of the screen which read "11:50 AM" and shrugged.

"The flight doesn't leave until 12:30 so I guess they'll start the boarding in a little while. Heh, heh, heh. I guess I'll find plenty of _takoyaki_ there in Oosaka: they do know how to make good octopus. And it's easy to blend in such a large city, too!" He chuckled.

"Attention, please. Calling all passengers of JAL flight 0789 headed for Kansai International Airport (KIA)… Please proceed to board through Gate 17." An announcer warned over the PA system.

"Hades" shut down the laptop and stored it on the suitcase as he headed for the forming queue in front of the gate: people began to board once their boarding passes were checked: "Hades" sat down on a seat next to window mid-length across the plane and smiled at his reflection.

_Gentlemen! The final act's curtain is about to rise!_


	15. Chapter 15: Heavens Divide

**Chapter 15: Heavens Divide**

20:08 PM (Japan Time), Tuesday June the 21st…

"… Colonel Talos, sir! There is no mistake, sir. The signal was being sent to this location, sir. Akihara City 2nd District… And the exact address is a small computers Choina business which is a cover for their secret services' recently activated "Japan Branch", sir!"

"Interesting. What do you think of it, Chief?"

"Commendable, yet futile."

"So true."

Colonel Talos and Chief Lezareno had been talking inside of a small office room having a desk, two chairs, a metallic drawer set, a small garbage bin, a phone and a computer when a man who looked like a technician given his blue overalls entered and brought a printed map in which a red "X" had been drawn which he left atop the table: both officers looked amused at the information while the technician remained firm as if awaiting further orders.

"Good work, _Comrade_."

"Sir! Thank you, sir!" He saluted.

"You may go."

"Roger, sir!"

The technician hit his heels and marched out at a military-like pace: the door closed and Colonel Talos picked the phone: he pressed a key and waited for something.

"Mr. Denpa? Our beloved Choina gentlemen are interested in our gentlemen, it'd seem. Any suggestions, _Comrade_?"

"Please decide what would the best course of action be, Colonel." Mr. Denpa calmly replied.

"Excellent."

"I'd rather say we do nothing. They must be expecting retaliation and thus be ready to bring out fierce resistance. No. It'd be best to not retaliate at all and puzzle them. Let's allow them to make a not-so-honorable retreat into their HQ: they must have realized by now that their branch has been discovered and is in danger of causing uproar over at Beijing." Chief Lezareno suggested with a broad smile.

"Lovely, Chief. We will do that."

"Excellent, gentlemen. I leave the rest on your hands, gentlemen. I shall present a report to Mr. Admin. This concerns him given how we're dealing with foreign agents." Mr. Denpa announced.

"Good. Good evening."

"Good evening, gentlemen."

Colonel Talos replaced the receiver and formed a creepy smile while Chief Lezareno merely formed a wide grin.

"Yet… We cannot discard a possibility. Keitai Denwa may have set this trail up because he knew it was believable and possible. He might be hiding closer than we think, even." Chief Lezareno turned grave.

"Ah. _Comrade _Keitai… True. He could've predicted our way of operating and thought he could pull a trick on us, too… But that shall not change our decision. Even he will get nervous to see we are not falling for his little game if it is the case… Let him curse us in vain. Unless he comes up with something terrifically brilliant, then he is no more than a wayward soul which needs to do some soul-searching…" Colonel Talos laughed.

"My. How fitting, Colonel. You described our gentleman just like he is: a wayward soul with no terminus station to reach." Chief Lezareno added with a hint of sarcasm.

"Trains always head to somewhere. I'd say his is heading for Narita International Airport… And, from there… To Paris. Everyone always wants go to the so-called "City of Lights"… Let him lighten his soul there."

They both chuckled under their breaths…

20:15 PM (Japan Time)…

"… How is the loading going like?"

"90% complete… All systems green… Another 10 minutes… What did you do with the "Darkloids", anyway? Toss them in the Reverse Internet or what?"

"Correct."

"Heh! Let them stir some chaos before the "secret trio" comes to try to put them down…"

Death Shadow, Kurayami and Kanaya were gathered in a Cyber World shaped like a tall cylinder which had a large-scale device built on the middle of it: bluish energy formed intricate circuitry board – like drawings over its surface as it extended downwards: the trio seemed to be standing on the very top where several cylinders marked with the "radioactive" and "poisonous" symbols had been placed: Kurayami was working with a holographic screen.

"By the way, Death… What did ya put in that empty compartment which isn't necessary for the core component's functioning?" Kurayami asked.

"An armored vehicle I came up… Its armor strength and battling power are high. It could turn the situation around if that repulsive pursuer were to try to challenge me again." Death Shadow replied.

"Oh… Sounds interesting…"

"All systems green… 6 minutes left. We luckily found a spot where no – one will care if we use it as demonstration… Given how it was sealed off by the JSDF and everyone is still trying to figure out what happened to that place last summer… Heh, heh, heh." Kurayami chuckled.

"Excellent. _HD_ has entered its final stage. And those repulsive pursuers cannot realize the fact." Death Shadow sounded eager.

"Of course they can't: they're blind!" Kanaya giggled.

They all laughed under their breaths…

20:24 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Good evening! Midorikawa Kero of the DNN reporting live from the airspace close to Mt. Fuji's peak! As you can see, the old Nebula factory is still there with its puzzling "missing section" subject of countless speculations and researches… We are keeping the mandatory distance of 300 meters from it. We've mobilized here given how we received information from an anonymous source claiming something totally worth our time will happen!"

"What… They expect someone to say "abracadabra" and the missing section will return?"

"Don't think so, Netto – kun."

Netto and Saito (having changed into their navy blue pajamas) were watching the TV as they sat on their house's living room sofa: Netto looked amused while Saito was serious.

"Huh? Oi, Kero! Look at the sky! NNW!"

"W-what in the world…?"

The camera suddenly aimed for a thick ghostly blue laser beam coming down from the sky and which impacted the factory (which was missing the upper section and the remaining section looked like it'd been split in half in clean manner given the clean edges of the walls) yet it didn't destroy it but made it be stained in a large amount of "Omicron Factor" from which then Spark Bee Viruses began to form along with other types of Viruses: the twins gasped and the helicopter's crew also sounded surprised at the scene.

"I-impossible! Viruses forming out of nowhere, into the real world! W-what in the world is this?" One of the crew gasped.

"Dunno!"

"Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah…" A cold laughter rang out from a speaker somewhere off-screen.

"Oi! Who turned on the radio?"

"I didn't!"

"So! Have you lowlifes seen it? The power of the _Heavens Divide Project_ or, rather… The power of the _Ouroboros Project_?" Death Shadow challenged with obvious arrogance.

"W-who's there?"

"Death Shadow! You lowlifes know of us as the "Death Club"… And now, thanks to Ouroboros… You lowlifes' world is doomed!"

"W-what!"

"Ouroboros! An orbital weapon loaded with our "Omicron Factor" and which can change appearance as well as orbit and signature! An impossible to locate orbital weapon… And with its power… I shall bathe this world in "Omicron Factor"…! This demonstration was to prove what it can do on its own. But when it comes into contact with living beings that is the spot where it turns interesting… "Omicron Factor" is a mutagen! A highly toxic mutagen… Yet, at the same time, it self-generates energy! It would render you lowlifes' nuclear power obsolete. Yet… You lowlifes cannot find it on this planet! Why? Because _I_ am the source of it! I shall spread it across the world… What "United Nations" and what treaties? Those are but words to fool the ignorant masses! Reality is different! You lowlifes are defenseless in such a state!" Death Shadow exclaimed.

"Yeah! You guys better start praying to Kami – sama~!" Kurayami taunted with obvious scorn.

"Doubt anyone will answer, though…" Kanaya added.

"W-what in the…!"

"Hah, hah, hah, hah… Yet! I am somewhat fond of dramas in which lives are staked! Rock Man EXE! If you lowlife can hear me, which I know you can, then… I shall tell you lowlife how to get into Ouroboros… We three are waiting to test you lowlife's power as the so-called "hero" of this world! Tomorrow at 9 AM… I hate unpunctual types. If you lowlife have the so-called "courage" you claim to have… Then come! Try to see how far your power can allow you to reach…!" Death Shadow challenged.

"W-what!" The twins gasped.

"I shall declare a truce until then… The main cannon is experimental so its needs about 3 hours to recharge after each shot, anyway. And if you lowlife, Vadous, are listening… Know what it is impossible for you lowlife to find us! Let despair possess you lowlife and realize you lowlife's own powerlessness! Hah, hah, hah!"

"Heh, heh, heh!"

"Tee, heh, heh!"

"T-the radio has shut down on its own!"

"What an evening!" Midorikawa gasped.

"Goodness!" Haruka muttered.

Netto's Link PET rang so he answered to the call: a man on his 20s having jet black hair and bluish eyes showed up on-screen: his facial traits were slightly reminiscent of those of Netto, even.

"Good evening. It's been a while." He sighed.

"Vadous – san!"

"Yeah. I saw the news, obviously enough. And I saw the beam rain down from orbit, too. They weren't bluffing: they were in one spot a minute ago and now there are another two unrelated objects there. I'm sure the crew onboard the ISS saw it too because they weren't that far when it fired yet nobody can see me…" The man sighed.

"In short: we have no other choice but to take on their challenge?" Netto summarized.

"Yeah. But take the "Vadous Soul" ability along. It can help. You'll need to employ all of your strategic thinking if you want to even survive against Death Shadow… His abilities are no joke: you must've seen what happened when Omega fought him this morning." Vadous told them with a sigh.

"Roger!"

"Well then… Ma'am! I apologize, but there is nothing I can to prevent such a thing from happening. I will work out all night but I doubt being able to stop them, unfortunately enough." He called out to Haruka.

"… I understand, Vadous – san. You are doing all you can. I know you will do anything for their sake, yet… They are Net Saviors, right? They have a duty to accomplish…" Haruka formed a weak smile.

"Just in case… I'll have Blood Shadow on standby given how Kurayami and Kanaya aren't _that much_ of a trouble. Everyone… Be careful. You can't be light-hearted. Sharpen your _katana_'s edge: this is an open conflict and there are only two possible outcomes."

"We understand, sir." Saito confirmed.

"It's our duty as Net Saviors!" Netto confirmed next.

"Good. Later."

The call ended and Netto placed the Link PET back into the arm-strap: he then frowned and seemed to be remembering something.

"Oh. Today was the last school day, so… There'll be no trouble to handle that tomorrow. What a kick-off to our vacations!" Netto muttered with obvious grimness.

"Totally… Only two outcomes… And against three opponents in a row, too… With the future of the world at stake… It's starting to make me remember the final battle with "Gospel"… All those resurrected Navis fighting us in a row… Copy Forte… The "Gospel" beast… And what happened afterwards…" Saito grimly muttered.

"Then… Go sleep already, you two. I guess Yuuichirou – san will get a hold sooner or later, too, but… There is no other way around." Haruka told them with a sigh.

"We know, Mama…" Netto sighed.

"It may be our hardest battle ever…!"

An air of grimness was present in the room…

20:49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh! Interesting… Very interesting! So that's how it's ended up, then? Good… I'll see to it!"

Keitai Denwa closed the tab of the DNN website in his laptop's Goggle Chrome browser and laughed: he lighted a cigarette (the butts of another twenty or so cigarettes had accumulated in the ashtray) and exhaled some smoke before seemingly thinking about it.

"Hades also sent me the locations of some of those old bosses of mine, too, 'cause that was one of the conditions I set for our cooperation. The guy surely doesn't care about what I do or how I do it. He's only my informant, after all. Well then… If little Earth makes it through this challenge then I'll consider rooting these guys out and retrieving some stuff which belongs to me. Heh, heh, heh."

He walked outside of the apartment into the balcony and monitored the street with his eyes twice before shrugging.

"I'm being paranoid. Those guys are far more worried about that trio than a "useless show-off" like me! After further checking the files, I've finally seen what the so-called "solution" is about… Impressive! And to think there was a Ms. Sponsor… Yet we didn't know because she hid her gender from everyone and made up the image of being a man on his 60s with a lot of money and power… The "Ice Queen" who ruled the whole Japan underground…! I now see… Zataki brought her down and that's why he became the current Mr. Sponsor… It'd seem everyone in the high spheres of the "Committee" despised her and were glad to shake her off because of the wrong image she was staining them with… Heh, heh, heh! That Zataki guy may be a genius but the way I got his info proved that he tends to forget security… Then again… I guess he only uses that house from time to time and sometimes may forget he owns it to begin with! How laughable, really!"

He laughed at his train of thought and then looked up into the slightly clouded skies.

"The prelude of the storm!"

20:54 PM (Japan Time)…

"… My, my! Cousin! Neglecting people again, are you? My! That sounded like Master Yoda, even. Anyway… I do think that's your trouble! You get detailed reports about possible menaces, glimpse them over and then decide to forget them altogether until they are proving to be an eyesore to everyone so that's when you react. Heh, heh, heh! That's how you behave and that behavior will bring you trouble."

"Hades" was leaning on a handrail at the edge of one of Oosaka's avenues and next to the sea: he could see the lights from several cruisers stationed not too far from there and from the other sights of the city including the Tsuutentaku Tower: he also had a pen on his right hand which he was toying with by moving it between his fingers and pressing the button from time to time.

"Anyway… I guess he's already looking out from the observation deck so as to try to spot a glimpse of that orbital weapon… But I'm sure our intelligent and resourceful trio has worked in all the details so as to avoid detection. Cousin… You will be kept awake all night long by the stress and Dr. Lartes will have to convince you to sleep some hours while he and Kir Osh _ani-ue-sama_ take shifts… Pity is: _ani – ue – sama _doesn't know about me, either. He thinks he's just him. But I happen to be Vadous' "cousin" and I am more biologically tied to Kir Osh given how I hold no direct linking to Vadous and the "cousin" title is just a formality. Yet I don't complain. I had no interest in Ice Queen – sama's so-called "Secret Empire" to begin with. I preferred to be on the backstage and see the behavior of the actors without making a step forward and not correcting them: letting them be natural and authentic."

He lowered his sight and pocketed the pen to take out some chewing gum which he began to chew in a distracted manner: he suddenly whipped around but only saw people walking up and down the street while being immersed in their day-to-day activities.

"… My imagination…? Or… I'm being paranoid. Nobody knows who I am and it'd seem some of the crowds don't know the ominous news yet. Fine… Maybe I should go back."

He began to walk away but he was constantly looking over his right shoulder as if suspecting that someone was following him: he then quickly entered an alleyway and crouched next to some garbage containers to hide and wait: some footsteps came close but they then headed away in a calm manner.

_I knew it: someone was following me! Maybe I was thinking aloud without realizing? But I doubt being a curious one… No… The way that person walked and kept out of sight meant experience. Wait a min! Didn't Colonel Botos of the Security Department live here, in Oosaka? Could he have spotted me by pure chance and overheard me? Hmmm… Maybe I'll need to be more careful. But Oosaka is a gigantic city! And given how I picked a residence in the special yards, then it'll be harder to find me. I came up with a good register to make it look like that place was bought a long time ago. I know that they could find someone just by checking if he's recently bought or rented a flat or house… Let's go back!_

"Hades" snuck out of the side alley while tip-toeing and merged with the crowds heading up the street: he then joined a bus stand's queue and climbed into a bus: he checked his passage and then picked a seat in the furthermost inside section.

_But if he's a careful man then he will reflect upon what he heard and try to analyze the situation… He saw me from the back. But he won't believe I'm Mr. Keitai given all I babbled about. No. He will realize I am linked to the former "Secret Empire" and about my connections. When Cousin gets a hold of it, which he will sooner or later, he will realize that there is someone who shares his same condition out there, somewhere in the vast expanses of Oosaka and its special wards. He will estimate my age yet he won't be able to guess my appearance. And men on their early 20s… There are a lot. Without a name then he can't do anything. And he CAN'T find my name because it DOESN'T exist. It CAN'T exist to begin with. I am but a "passer-by" here… This is my second stop. I know I will do one more sooner or later. What happens beyond that is up to what happens in that next stop… Heh, heh, heh! Tremble, Cousin YY! I will corner you!_

He chuckled under his breath and formed a smug smile…


	16. Chapter 16: Decisive Battle!

**Chapter 16: Decisive Battle!**

08:55 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday June the 22nd…

"… This is the uplink Warp Point to Ouroboros, then…"

"I'm ready, Netto – kun."

"Good. Blood! We're counting on you for the backup."

"Don't worry: I can sneak inside using my stealth camouflage without them noticing…"

Rock Man and Blood Shadow were standing inside of the Death Club's old hideout where a warp point having the word "Ouroboros" written into it was present: Netto sounded tense, Rock Man looked resolved and Blood Shadow was calm.

"By the way, Netto – kun… If possible… Could we try to only weaken them and not delete them…? It's not like I feel pity for them, but, truth is… I know all Navis can be rebuilt and such, but… I always feel guilty about having to delete them… If only there had been another way around back then…" Rock Man called out with a sigh.

"Rock Man… Yeah. You're right. It's been plaguing me, too. I know that we recently haven't faced that many Net Navis and the only one we've recently had to delete was Plant Man but that was because we tried out a new ability and didn't realize what we were doing… Blood… Do you object to that?" Netto asked.

"No. If we can weaken them to then seal them up somewhere then I guess it's a better solution. I've never liked having to delete Navis. It torments me, too. Sigma, being the trigger happy guy he is, probably doesn't think much of it, and maybe Sir Omega doesn't, either, but… For us… It's a burden to carry." Blood Shadow admitted.

"Alright. Let's go… To Ouroboros." Rock Man rallied.

"To the decisive battleground…" Netto muttered.

"To protect Earth…!" Blood Shadow muttered next.

Rock Man stepped into the Warp Point followed by Blood Shadow who immediately became invisible: Rock Man acted like he wasn't there and looked around: he was at the lowest of a series of circular platforms built around a central cylinder: some stairways climbed up and connected the different levels: several pipes filled the gap between the platforms' inner edges and the central cylinder which seemed to be close to ten meters tall, even: the background was the Greek symbol for "Omicron" colored in the ghostly blue color.

"So this is Ouroboros…! The central cylinder must be the cannon and the pipes surely are part of a cooling system. Any large-scale weapon generates heat which has to be removed to avoid a dangerous overheating of the system…" Rock Man deduced.

"Heh, heh, heh. So! You came! Rock Man EXE!" Kurayami called out while chuckling.

"Climb up to Level 5!" Kanaya commanded.

"Level 5? This has to be Level 0, then." Rock Man muttered.

"Nah. That's Level 1. Level 0 is the muzzle itself. But only the maintenance crew can come inside." Kurayami replied.

Rock Man spotted a stair way and began to climb levels by picking the next stairway in front of him each time he climbed one: he reached Level 5 where both Kurayami and Kanaya were waiting at: Rock Man lifted his eyebrows as if being surprised by their design.

"So! Don't I look like someone ya know?" Kurayami challenged.

"… Blood Shadow. You look similar to Blood Shadow."

"Yeah! But the reason is a long tale."

"But we'll tell you something: we are "Dark" Net Navis! Do not mistake us for the "Darkloids" and the "Dark Power" which stems from "Dark Chips", though! Our source of power is different."

"Will ya let me handle the situation, Kanaya? I've prepared a terrific Folder to sweep the ground with this guy on it."

"Sure. Were things to turn awry, I'll step in. I'll lock all staircases and turn on the force field." Kanaya shrugged.

She stepped away and snapped her right hand's middle and index finger: an orange-colored "force field" formed on the very edge of the platform and the stairways' openings were sealed with slabs.

"Heh, heh, heh. So! Predecessor! Let's see what stuff ya are made from and if ya can stand up to this replica of the _Meteor Server_'s power! The most powerful server ever!" Kurayami chuckled.

"M-Meteor Server?" Both gasped.

"Black End… Galaxy!"

Kurayami suddenly lifted his hands and began to form a blackish spheroid of energy into them which he then threw into the air behind Rock Man: it suddenly became a black vortex which began to suck everything around it including Rock Man: before he could react, though, Kurayami had drawn a reddish sword on his right forearm and dashed forward in blur, slicing the air and opening a gash on Rock Man's upper torso: he continued past him and the vortex, slicing it as well thus triggering its implosion and collapse: the brutal shockwave sent Rock Man flying about ten meters before landing, hard, on the ground: he panted and tried to get his bearings but Kurayami was already looming over him.

"Game Over. Red Gaia… Eraser!"

Kurayami formed two discs on the air having a black edge, red body and inner yellow section: these disks floated in a diagonal angle and began to sweep the ground with continuous streams of crimson-colored energy while Kurayami shot a beam of the same color from a buster-like weapon which formed on his right forearm: the three beams inflicted further wounds to Rock Man but the thing didn't end there as a gigantic dome-shaped explosion swept the area.

"Heh. Too easy… What!"

When the explosion cleared, Rock Man was still alive yet gravely injured: he groaned and tried to stand on his fours yet he collapsed.

"Under Shirt… Forgot that. Whatever. Maybe deleting you would be too sweet! Oi! Kanaya! Ya got a prize. Use it." Kurayami called out.

"Delighted."

"Not yet! Full Energy Recovery Program: Start!"

White streams of light jumped out from Rock Man's chest emblem and his wounds began to fade as he slowly managed to stand up and pant: both villains gasped.

"That has to be something Vadous came up with!"

"Yeah. This isn't over yet!" Netto tried to sound confident.

"Yet! I can detect the fear on the background, Hikari Netto! You've never met an opponent who could take out 1000 HP in just two attacks, had you? The Dream Virus, Dream Virus "R", "Gospel"… None could! But as Kurayami said… Everything is possible if you have the power of the Meteor Server!" Kanaya laughed.

"What the hell is that "Meteor Server", then?" Netto demanded.

"It doesn't exist in _this age_. But it's an accumulation of residual signal and data noise flowing outta Earth which fused into a gigantic cluster…"

"What do you mean by "this age"? Don't we all live in the 21st century to begin with?" Rock Man shot back.

"Ah… I knew it! Vadous hides things again. He's afraid of being looked down upon 'cause it'd seem like he makes up stories!" Kanaya sounded amused.

"What?" Both gasped.

"We three come from the 23rd century! The year 2205!"

"NO WAY!"

"Way! Blood Shadow was created in that era, along with Sigma and Omega! Vadous can time-travel between both eras… And Death Shadow is an alien Net Navi to begin with!"

"Alien?"

"Yeah! Guess what? He was originally a living creature yet upon some circumstances, he stripped Blood Shadow of some of his components which he then used to transform into this form. And we say "he" yet Death Shadow is genderless. But since he speaks and behaves like a man, then…" Kurayami laughed.

"Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah! Talk-time's over! I'll go next. Meteor Light Barrage! Atomic Blazer! Dynamic Wave!"

"W-what!"

Kanaya formed a spheroid of energy and jumped into the air to make then several spheres of energy bombard the field: two hit Rock Man twice and he recoiled yet Kanaya was already on the ground and charging up a mass of fire which she then propelled forward in the form of a large and wide beam of scorching fire: she didn't stop there and spun upon her axis thrice thus bathing Rock Man in three tall waves which washed him away across the ground: he panted and tried to recover.

"W-what power…! Three attacks… Total damage… 980 HP! This is also the power of… the Meteor Server…?" He muttered as he tried to sit up somehow.

"Yeah! And we still have another two techniques which can sum up to 600 HP of damage. Well? Is your age of playing hero gone already? Or are ya like Snake, who never believed that he was a hero? So? What's the verdict?" Kurayami taunted with a broad grin.

"This guy…!" Netto grumbled.

"Full Recovery Program: Activate!"

"Hmpf! So you're the masochist type! Good enough! Let's go for more, then! Thunderbolt Blade! Elemental Cyclone! Atomic Blazer!"

"Battle Chip, Dream Aura!"

"Hmpf! Hah. Whatever. You're only delaying what's inevitable, Rock Man EXE! Here we go~!"

Kanaya drew a blade shaped like a thunderbolt which she swung left and right before hitting the ground with it and making a thunderbolt rain down and impact Rock Man: she then conjured a cyclone made of thousands of green leaves which hit Rock Man twice and she repeated her earlier fire attack: Rock Man collapsed into the ground for the third time.

"We're not getting anywhere like this, Rock Man! We need to go for desperate measures! I know the Dream Aura rested 200 HP outta those attacks, so you still have 200 HP left!" Netto called out.

"Grah… Yeah… Can't see any way around this…!"

"Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In!"

"Dream Sword!"

Rock Man ran forward and swung the Dream Sword to inflict damage to both opponents: they recoiled, taken aback by the move, but merely smiled.

"So! Our predecessor guy has some teeth to him, after all. I was getting bored!" Kurayami grinned.

"Yeah. It's funnier to force them to accept your rule." Kanaya formed a smug smile.

"Program Advance! Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In!"

"Giga Cannon!"

"Heh! Holy Panel, Super Barrier!"

"Hah! Holy Panel, Super Barrier!"

Rock Man's attack's power was lowered by the Holy Panels but it was still strong enough to overcome their Super Barriers: he panted but was suddenly attacked by a shotgun's blast and the bullets of the Gatling gun thus forcing him to step back: both of them had drawn their weapons and had smug smiles on their faces.

"Our attacks amounted 200 HP but given how ya have Under Shirt ya have 1 HP left. Really… Did you really think the same trick would work twice?"

"How _naïve_!"

"Grah! We're running out of ideas. Full Recovery Program: Start! Luckily, this program only needs 30 seconds to recharge after each use… I'm not yet sure if I should try using "that" or save it up… But I could complement it with the Full Recovery Program, too, so…" Netto muttered.

"Go for it, Netto – kun!"

"Alright! Are you ready, Rock Man?"

"Ready!"

"Soul Unison: Vadous Soul! Slot In!"

"WHAT!" Both opponents gasped.

"Gu… GUA~H!"

Rock Man's chest emblem began to emit some streaks of purple light before a purple-colored mass of energy surrounded his body while he roared.

"W-what! The power levels… They're brutally high!" Kurayami gasped.

"No way! What can be higher than the Meteor Server?"

The mass faded to reveal how Rock Man had gained a new armor over his usual bodysuit: it was colored purple with some black patterns into it.

His helmet had gained a terrific-looking faceplate two crimson-colored hexagons were set over the eyes while the nose and the mouth were covered by a triangular piece which had a matrix of vertical and horizontal straight lines on it: the design looked reminiscent of a gas mask's filter.

The armor included a black metallic belt with a round central point having the Hikari family crest drawn into it plus two decorated sword sheaths attached to both sides of it.

The whole thing looked reminiscent of _Darth Vader_'s own design.

"… You're harming Earth. I'm a Net Savior. I won't let you guys get away with it. Get ready." His filtered voice icily warned.

"T-there's even the breathing SFX…!" Kurayami gulped.

"We're in trouble!" Kanaya gasped.

"CHAOS… BEAM!"

Rock Man clasped his hands together and formed a spheroid of black energy which grew until it occupied the whole height of his hands: the spheroid then shot forward in the form of a thick beam of black energy: it seemed to overcome the speed of sound given the shockwaves which formed at its wake and how the ground cracked and a crevice opened below the beam.

"The end." Rock Man icily announced.

The beam suddenly split into two and each headed for one opponent: they made contact and a gigantic shockwave began to wreck the ground in a 10 meters radius around them and exposing what looked like cooling devices built under the first layer of ground: the devices frizzled and exploded as well.

"… We did it. Netto – kun." He calmly announced.

"Y-yeah… Somehow…" Netto nervously replied.

"No…! Not yet!"

"Grah… We won't fall so easily!"

Both opponents had suffered grave damage and they somehow managed to stand up but it was obvious that they were quite weakened by now and their balance was far from perfect: Rock Man was starting to look tired, too, and like he was having trouble standing.

"Battle Chip, Recovery 300! Slot In!"

"Phew. This attack takes a toll of 300 HP… It's only the second time I've ever used it, too…" Rock Man muttered.

"Enough! Kurayami. Kanaya. You are not in a condition to fight. And that level of power amuses me. Let this one come clash swords with me. I shall see for myself if that power is strong enough!"

"… Well… But if you see that he won't win then just remove that recovery program or corrupt it… We have plans for this guy…" Kanaya formed a smug smile.

"Yeah… We've got a backup plan!" Kurayami grinned.

"Hell." Netto cursed as if guessing what they meant.

"I do not see the point. But I do not care."

"Alright… Unlock staircases!"

The staircases were unlocked and Rock Man began to climb them up while the other two formed smug smiles: they didn't notice the invisible Blood Shadow sneaking past them.

"… Hey, Kanaya… Let's say what if… What if Death were to actually be defeated? I know I'm being pessimistic, but I want to have something ready just in case." Kurayami whispered to her.

"Hmmm… We know where there's another of those devices so we could use it and head back to our age. We could come up with something there or bid some time by manipulating another party to cause some ruckus instead of us…" Kanaya whispered back.

"Good enough! But that's a last resort plan. I'd rather hope we actually don't need to make use of it, but one is being careful. Let's repair this cooling system so that it doesn't take longer for the main gun to recharge when Death has to fire it again." Kurayami grinned.

"Deal. Maintenance crew: activate! Repairs nano-machines: activate! Target! Level 05, Cooling Sector 05A2!" Kanaya summoned.

Some miniscule black spots began to gather in the broken ground and to mend it back along with some standard Net Navis who supervised the work of the nano-machines: both then looked at the central cylinder in front of them and lifted their gaze to spot Death Shadow's figure atop it who made the "thumbs-up" sign to them: both nodded in agreement and sat down on the ground as if to look on.

"So! You came… Rock Man EXE!"

Rock Man had reached the topmost level and crossed the space between the gun and the platform using a connecting road: he stepped into the control area where a console was placed next to a closed hatch and eight cylinders which were obviously filled with "Omicron Factor" needed for the gun's functioning: Death Shadow signaled the connecting road and it was deleted while a "force field" surrounded the whole of the gun as if to protect it apart from preventing Rock Man's escape.

"Is what they said true?" Rock Man questioned.

"True. I am an extraterrestrial data living being! And my will is the will of the "Omicron Factor" itself… Expand! Expand and corrupt! Across the whole Universe! Replicate "Origin Point" and made "Omicron Factor" be the will of the Universe! All living beings tied together by "Omicron Factor"!" Death Shadow exclaimed.

"And they name you "Death Shadow" because you're the opposite of Blood Shadow?" Netto deduced.

"Correct! Brother! Rejoice! You lowlife shall soon become the first of a new generation of "Omicron" Net Navis! Stealth camouflage is nothing to my, who I could switch spectrums and camouflage in both the IR and X – Ray spectrum!" He suddenly announced.

Blood Shadow deactivated the camouflage but he'd been left cut off by the "force field" so he looked annoyed.

"Stop with that title already. I don't wanna have anything to do with a creepy jerk like you." Blood Shadow grumbled.

"If you lowlife are the messenger of "life" then I am the messenger of "death"! I shall settle the score with you lowlife later: this one goes first in my list! Besides… The main gun is loaded and ready! The target is… New York City!" Death Shadow let out.

"New York City…! I've got no doubts anymore! I MUST stop you! No matter what!" Rock Man gasped.

Death Shadow made that empty laughter and shone with energy as he aimed his arm cannon at Rock Man and dashed forward…


	17. Chapter 17: Mechanical fear

**Chapter 17: Mechanical fear**

09:58 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday June the 22nd…

"… Hah, hah, hah! Let us begin! Death Spiral Cannon!"

"Double… Thunder!"

"Futile!"

"Huh! Where did the guy…?"

Death Shadow had begun by loading up his arm cannon and shooting out a bluish-colored stream of energy which formed a spiral: Rock Man drew both swords, intercrossed them, and built up purple static electricity into it which then fused into an electrical beam headed for Death Shadow who flashed and suddenly vanished out of sight: his attack met Rock Man's and they cancelled each other.

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP

"What? My alarm clock?" Netto wondered.

"Wrong! This is…!"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Jump!" Blood Shadow yelled.

Rock Man gasped and managed to jump out of the bomb's reach: he flipped across the air and landed in another spot: he could see how the deposits, the console and the hatch were protected by "force fields" to avoid collateral damage to them and Death Shadow was hovering above one of the deposits.

"Hah, hah, hah… What is the matter, Rock Man? Too fast for you lowlife's mortal reflexes?" He taunted.

"And now you're gonna say you're immortal." Netto grumbled as if predicting his behavior.

"No… I am "death" itself! I cannot die since I am already dead! Hah, hah, hah, ha~h!"

"Unending Cyclone~!"

"Hah! Play with that weak one, my Double!"

Rock Man conjured a cyclone on the spot but Death Shadow flashed and created a "Double" which began to ride along the cyclone until he was propelled skywards: the "Double" then switched the arm cannon's configuration and began to shoot a barrage of missiles towards Rock Man who barely dodged in time.

"Where's the real one?"

"Over here… And over here, too!"

Rock Man gasped and saw how Death Shadow was jumping from deposit to deposit while always spawning a "Double" of his thus making a total of eight which began to switch positions and mix to Rock Man's consternation.

"How do we tell them apart now?" Netto cursed.

"I guess the "Doubles" have lesser HP! Vicious Fire!"

Rock Man holstered the swords and formed a set of blackish flames on his hands which he then threw and latched at one Death Shadow like if they were real flames: the Death Shadow exploded and Rock Man aimed for another one.

"Great Wave!"

A gigantic wave washed two Death Shadows into one "force field" thus making them be destroyed as well: Rock Man didn't waste a second and ran towards another pack.

"Crushing Avalanche!"

Some irregular boulders formed on the middle of the air and fell down on top of another two Death Shadows thus blowing them up as well: Rock Man sighed in relief.

"Five down… Three left… And one of them is the real one! Let's go! Pure Light! Burn!"

Rock Man formed two continuous streams of white light which cut their way into one Death Shadow's body thus blowing it up as well and leaving just another two.

"Condensed Dark!"

He formed two spheroids of black energy which latched into one of the two Death Shadows and froze his movements: Rock Man quickly drew the swords.

"Double Thunder!"

The electrical blast hit the frozen Death Shadow and blew him up thus leaving just one in the field.

"Phantom Time!"

The Death Shadow began to slow down and Rock Man quickly plunged both swords into him, blowing him up as well, to his obvious surprise even if the faceguard hid his face.

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP

He gasped and spotted how the whole field had been riddled with energy bombs and Death Shadow's spheroid was sitting atop the control console: Rock Man jumped into the air just in time as an explosion swept the whole area: he landed back in the ground just as the real Death Shadow did while laughing.

"That power is real! I have felt it. But you lowlife wasted it all on my doubles. Now I shall slowly take you lowlife's life away before I condemn you to fall into what they name the "living _Naraku_"!" He laughed in his cold and echoing voice.

"I'm not over yet, Death Shadow! Seal of…!"

"Hah! Too slow! Red Beam!"

Rock Man had been about to attack when Death Shadow shot that red beam which latched into Rock Man: he yelped and collapsed into his knees while trying to break the beam.

"Hah, hah, hah… You lowlife's energy will be interesting to study. Maybe by combining it with "Omicron Factor" I shall increase its power… No more wasting time!" Death Shadow laughed.

He signaled the control console and it beeped: red lights turned on and sirens began to ring out.

"Warning. Main gun loading procedure final stage started. Main gun will be available to fire in 7 minutes. Starting injection of energy deposits… Repeat: 7 minutes." An auto-voice warned.

The deposits hissed and began to descend into the body of the gun until they were totally inside and their compartments were sealed: Death Shadow then signaled the hatch.

"There is my ace-in-the-hole. I shall test it out in you lowlife! And you lowlife shall be crushed by it like the eyesore insect you are… I would prefer that method but the pact with my companions goes first. I do believe it is more enjoyable to slowly destroy you lowlifes' mind and body than just granting you lowlife a quick and sudden _shuuen_…" Death Shadow laughed.

A platform climbed up from inside of the compartment revealing a four legged mechanical vehicle made of a reddish-colored metal which had two "eyes" on both side of the sphere which served as the core.

"Mecha Arachnus!"

"Mechanical Arachnid?" Rock Man translated.

"Correct! I shall now combine with this vehicle… And none of you lowlife's weapons are able to harm it given its thick armor… Kurayami! Where did you say you found the inspiration?" Death Shadow called out.

"Metal Gear REX's composite armor: you'd need a HEAT missile to begin harming it! And unlike REX… This doesn't have weaknesses built in purpose by Otacon!" Kurayami laughed.

"Crap!"

"We're in trouble!"

"Hah, hah, hah… Feel the agony!"

Death Shadow jumped inside of it using an open access hatch atop it and closed it from the inside: the eyes turned red and the knee joints opened, revealing machine gun barrels mounted on them: a laser gun emerged from the underside of the machine and it was already charging: and, also, a missile launcher was installed on the back and it was about to unload its cargo on Rock Man.

"No good!"

"Battle Chip, Area Steal!"

"Mecha Missiles!"

Rock Man had warped to another spot of the area but the missiles seemed to have locked on him given how they were already inches away from him: he was unable to react in time and ended up receiving the impact of about a dozen missiles which formed cracks and fissures on the armor and forced him to step back.

"Rock Man! Can't we…?" Netto called out.

"Not yet, Netto – kun! The Chao Beam needs 3 minutes to fully recharge and we can't use it before then!" Rock Man replied.

"3 minutes and it's been 5 since the thing started loading…! We'll be left with a window of 2 minutes unless we could disable the charging sequence but I'm afraid just destroying the console won't do. We gotta hurry it up! Recovery 300, Giga Mine, Double Slot In!"

The Mecha Arachnus stepped into one concealed land mine and the blast made it roll and have its legs wave the air in vain: it suddenly fired a missile straight at the ground and the explosion helped straighten it up while Death Shadow's laughter rang out from the inside.

"Futile! Futile! Four minutes left! New York City shall become a feeding ground for new variations of the "Omicron Factor" with the feeble creatures there dying off in a painful manner while the strong ones will evolve and fight each other for supremacy!"

"Shaddup!" Netto growled.

"Wrong… You lowlifes will be silenced! Mecha Laser! Mecha Machineguns! Be brought down!"

The laser turned on and almost hit Rock Man who rolled across the ground towards the right to dodge and the machinegun rounds bounced off his armor so he didn't get major damage.

"Che! Double Thunder! I'll try to disable the weapons at the very least, in that case!" Rock Man grumbled.

He aimed for the laser and it frizzled with obvious symptoms of electrical overload before it blew up and obviously stopped functioning: the Mecha Arachnus suddenly boosted forward and ran Rock Man over, who yelped and tried to maneuver out of its reach.

"Grah! The main body itself can attack, too!"

"3 minutes left! Wander in despair and hopelessness!"

"We won't listen to what a bad guy has to say! Rock Man! Try to do the same thing for the other weapons, too!" Netto rallied.

"Hmpf! Omicron Barrier!"

"Double Thunder!"

A blue shield formed around the Mecha Arachnus and Rock Man's attack was bounced off and back at him: he, however, waved his right hand and made the electricity's coloring switch to blue: he seemed to regain energy instead of suffering harm.

"Reversed polarity! Now… Battle Chip, Super North-Wind! Slot In!"

The gust of wind blew the "Omicron Barrier" away and Rock Man quickly stabbed both front knee joints to disable their machineguns: the Mecha Arcachnus ran him over again and he managed to stand up nevertheless to see a rain of missiles locking on him and heading for him at top speed: he gasped.

"Battle Chip, Kawarimi! Slot In!"

Rock Man jumped into the air while leaving the _kararimi_ doll behind and made three _shuriken_ get stuck on the missile launcher device's body: Death Shadow merely laughed and jumped into the air to land back while causing a blue shockwave of energy which swept the area and hit Rock Man thus making him collide with the perimeter "force field" and get electrocuted by it: he dropped into his knees and groaned as he seemingly tried to stand up.

"What powerlessness, really! Vadous! You lowlife granted them false "hope" and "courage" like all those "wonder weapons" mottoes which are always used in wars… You lowlife are pathetic! I shall make sure to locate you lowlife's orbital hideout and then destroy it with one attack of Ourobos!" Death Shadow laughed.

"14 seconds to finish loading…! We can do it! Death Shadow! I'll put an end to you guys' ambitions here and now!" Rock Man challenged as he signaled the Mecha Arachnus.

"Hah! Boast while you can, Rock Man EXE! Or, rather… A feeble human who tried to escape from me by being reborn in another entity… You lowlife! Hikari Saito!" He laughed.

"No surprise if ya copied Blood's memory files… 5 seconds!"

Rock Man's chest emblem began to shine all of a sudden with a bright blue glow and he seemed to concentrate.

"Another of Vadous' false hopes mechanisms? Hah! What a foolish human! To think he can overcome space-time yet keeps his so-called "allies" uninformed!" He was unimpressed.

"There are things in life which are better off not knowing. Loading complete! Prepare to meet OUR true power! Synchro Level: 99%! Let's push it further, Netto – kun!" Rock Man rallied.

"Yeah! If we can achieve Full Synchro, then…! The Chaos Beam's power should be strong enough to blow that thing up and hit Death Shadow as well! Get ready!"

"Hah! Boast while you can!"

"Full Synchro achieved! Hra~h!"

Rock Man's body began to glow with a pale blue light and he began to build up energy on his hands while his chest emblem glowed in a quick manner: the Mecha Arachnus merely jumped into the air and was about to land atop Rock Man.

"Be defeated!"

"CHAOS… BEA~M!" Both he and Netto exclaimed.

An obviously overpowered Chaos Beam flew out of Rock Man's body accompanied by a spiraling surge of blue energy: the ground shook and so did the air as the beam yet again broke the speed of sound and made the whole area rumble: the metal began to bent and deform as the beam headed upwards and straight for the approaching underside of the Mecha Arachnus.

"1 minute 30 seconds until firing." The auto-voice reported.

The beam made contact with the Mecha Arachnus and actually _pierced through it_ while continuing towards the "ceiling" of the Cyber World where it made impact yet it persisted so its power was being amplified: the Mecha Arachnus broke down into large clusters of data and Death Shadow's form could be seen inside of the beam as he roared in agony and his data began to lose integrity: a shifting combination of rainbow colors began to originate in the area and a crack opened in the middle of space.

"HROA~H! IMPOSSIBLE~! I AM… "DEATH" ITSELF…! I CANNOT DIE~…! I HAVE OVERCOME SPACE-TIME~! I… OMICRON FACTOR… EXPAND…! CORRUPT…! RULE…! UWA~H!"

His body broke apart into several clusters and was then sucked in by the crack which then closed and released a shockwave of energy which overloaded the "force field" and made the whole Cyber World frizzle and its lights began to flicker at wild while some pieces of the Cyber World suddenly exploded.

"DEATH!" Both Kurayami and Kanaya gasped.

"A massive EM outburst is going on! Rock Man! We have to pull out before all energy here goes unstable and blows up!" Blood Shadow called out.

"Kzzzz… EM outburst situation… Several systems off-line… Unable to proceed with countdown… Kzzzz… Evacuate immediately…!" The auto-voice announced between bursts of static.

"Roger! Full recovery program: start! Let's get out!"

"By all the…! I can't believe _Death_ of all people would be beaten down! We gotta flee!" Kurayami cursed.

"We'll avenge him one day!" Kanaya hissed.

They jumped into the shaft until they reached Level 1 and ran out using the Warp Point followed by Rock Man and Blood Shadow: the Cyber World's situation began to turn crazy with alarms going off everywhere and parts of the central device blowing up along with the cooling systems thus rising the temperature to dangerous levels.

"This thing will blow up but I guess the heat will set all "Omicron Factor" into fire, too… And given how it easily burns up then nothing will be left for any dangerous parties to pick up. Not even the stuff scattered atop Mt. Fuji." Blood Shadow muttered.

"Why?" Netto asked.

"We found out something: Death Shadow continuously emits an ultrasound signal which is picked up by special cells inside of the raw "Omicron Factor" and tells it to be a persistent existence. But now that the signal is no more, then… All will die out. And, besides, Sir Omega and Sigma have already sterilized the place. We're still repairing the "Hunter's Guild" members and a Navi named Aqua Man. Yet… Now that Death Shadow is gone, the "Omicron Factor" inside of them will be deleted without a trace." Blood Shadow detailed.

"Good! Then no one will be able to exploit it!"

"We won!" Netto exclaimed.

10:09 AM (Japan Time)…

"… My, my. So they won. Yet… That phenomenon back then… I cannot be mistaken! Rupture of Time-Space… Another Time-Space interacted with our Time-Space and the sudden instability of both opened a crack linking both of them yet the energy imploded by releasing gigantic amounts of EM radiation including alpha, beta and gamma radiation! Heh, heh, heh, heh! Interesting. Who knows? Maybe someone will find his remains and be able to rebuild him, even! This Time-Space may be freed from the rule of terror yet another may suffer it! Fate shall decide!"

"Hades" was looking at live imagery of Rock Man and Blood Shadow running out of the old hideout while the Warp Point behind them got deleted: he then switched to a camera which seemed to be in orbit somewhere and which was focusing on the Ouroboros satellite as it frizzled and was obviously falling from orbit due to the mad firings of its course correction rockets.

"I don't know yet if it'll burn up in the atmosphere or, rather, it'll blow up before that. Either way it'll be gone. Those two will still be at large but now that they've lost the overwhelming advantage they can be backed up into a corner. Heh, heh, heh. I wonder if Cousin Vadous has been told of me yet or Colonel Botos is waiting for a better opportunity before telling them… Either way he will know. The doubt and nerve will plague him. But by the time he starts to search… I will have "moved on" thus disappearing in all senses of the word." He muttered aloud with obvious amusement.

He looked out at the Oosaka skyline some distance away from an apartment's living room window and smiled: he then focused his attention again on his laptop and spotted how Ouroboros exploded and only some very little fragments in free fall were left: the camera feed was cut.

"Ah. But of course. That satellite's gun used powerful magnets and their unleashed magnetism was too much for this camera to bear with... I don't mind. Cousin Vadous! I, _Kanou Shade_, shall plague your mind for the times to come! Know that I was here! And your "Alternate" will soon meet me!"

He laughed aloud in a victorious tone of voice…


	18. Chapter 18: Bonds of friendship

**Chapter 18: Bonds of friendship**

12:49 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday June the 22nd…

"… You guys did it! You beat the "Death Club"!"

"Well… Yeah… But…"

"Come on, niisan! Smile up!"

"Is something troubling you, Saito – kun?"

"Hah! He knows I am stronger than him at gymnastics!"

"Yeah? And why were you always yelling "I'm gonna die at this rate" when we did warm-ups?"

"Yikes!"

"Hah! Clown."

"Wha~t?"

"Whoa. I'm still amazed."

"Of course ya are, Obihiro – kun! We're cool guys, after all!"

Netto, Saito, Hiro, Delta, Dekao, Meiru, Yaito and another guy had reunited in the Akirara Town square.

The newcomer looked one or two years younger than the rest of the group and was slightly shorter, around a meter and forty tall.

His hair was colored gray and was rather neatly combed while his eyes' irises were red in coloring.

He sported a purple jumper with a white hood, jeans and white shoes and he also carried a navy blue backpack hanging from his back.

Netto had been scratching the back of his head upon being complimented by Hiro, Saito looked worried, Delta chatted with him, Dekao boasted, Meiru was skeptical, Yaito made fun of him and Obihiro looked surprised.

"Netto – kun…" Saito rolled his eyes.

"Wha~t? Didn't ya see how we blew the whole thing?"

"Yeah. But those two are alive and at large. And I'm worried about their potential." Saito replied.

"Bah! Next time we bring out the "Gospel" Chips and sweep the ground with them on it! Thanks for lending them to us, Obihiro – kun!" Netto grinned.

"Ah… It's nothing, really!"

"Sorry! I'm late!"

Tooru ran into the square and leant upon a tree to recover his breath: he looked like he'd come here in a rush.

"Huff, huff… I was playing that new MMORPG… I didn't realize that it was this late! Sorry, sorry!" He apologized.

"Don't worry, Tooru – kun! I know you behave. But that thing over there won't." Meiru shrugged.

"E~H? Meiru! That was cruel! How can ya call me a "thing"? I'm a human, ya know!"

"More like a gorilla!" Yaito grinned.

"NO WAY!"

"Way. Go boast in front of the squirrel statue: maybe it'll hear ya out and make a gorilla fall down from the skies." Meiru made a smug smile and looked sinister, for once.

Everyone (Yaito included) took a step backwards and looked elsewhere as if trying to dissimulate their nervousness.

"Heh! I'm making progress." She grinned.

"Meiru – chan…" Roll sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh! What became of Cosmo Man and the others?" Saito asked Delta.

"Oh? Them? They're being healed at the Science Labs."

"So they didn't get to force them into a battle?"

"No. Red is keeping them company and chatting with them."

"That's good."

"Hmmm… My sneaking instinct tells me someone is trying to sneak on us, guys!" Hiro suddenly warned.

"Huh? Those guys…?" Saito gasped.

"Excuse me, sir. Can I help you, sir?" Agent Karasu's voice asked from behind a nearby group of trees.

"… Eh… Police?" A Navi replied.

"No. Private security. Why do you hide from them, sir?"

"He won't answer."

"I won't oblige him to, yet…"

"Eh… We used to be classmates with them."

"Is that so?"

Netto gasped and rushed over there with Saito to spot a teen guy leaning against a tree and hanging his head down.

The guy looked around the age and height of both of them: he had jet black messy hair which grew past the base of the neck and his eyes' irises were green.

He sported a sleeveless black shirt with the white words "Kyoto's Magical Streets" written into it, a black leather belt, jeans and red sneakers.

His Link PET was colored golden and blue while having a golden Alphabet "X" letter as emblem.

"Zarashe!" Both gasped.

"… I though as much: you'd noticed us."

"You were… Beta X, right?"

"Yeah. Beta X."

Beta X was a Net Navi who appealed as being over a meter and sixty tall, maybe closer to a meter and seventy.

His eyes' irises were blood red in coloring but they lacked pupils: his facial expression denoted sadness.

His helmet's main color was black as well yet he had some blue pieces of armor built around the edges of it and spanning through the middle of the helmet: a red pyramidal jewel aiming downwards was set above his nose.

The helmet included five extensions shaped like wings and colored white plus a golden edge: two formed on the lower edge of the helmet, another two formed at a height over the eyes and the last one sprouted from the middle of his helmet while aiming upwards.

His main body's color choice was black: he had a white piece of armor set over the chest which contained a ruby jewel and two wing-like extensions spreading across the torso until the shoulders: the Alphabet letters "BX" colored golden were set within a piece of armor located over the upper edge of the ruby.

A golden edge surrounded his neck and formed a small collar-like object around it: his shoulders had white armor over it: three thin spear-like extensions formed behind them and gave off the impression of a wing as well: the uppermost piece was golden in coloring while the other two pieces were white.

His arms' skin was black until the elbow: white armor encompassed it and extended until the hands and fingers: a golden ring served as additional protection for the wrists.

The rest of his upper body had no decoration whatsoever until the hips, where the leg armor began at: a golden edge shaped like a triangle marked the start of it.

The rest of the legs' armor was painted using white color palette: the knees had extra armor over them and two small and short wing-like extensions.

Golden pieces of armor showed up over the ankles yet there was a space between them and the legs: they were bent upwards to form a triangle and included the wing shapes on their edges.

Lastly, his feet's armor included two pieces of outer edge and another two pieces which were separated by a slight space between the front and the rear of them.

Overall, his appearance was reminiscent of a "fallen angel" given the color motifs and all the winged extensions.

"Zarashe… We knew you'd been living with a relative in Kyoto, yet… Why didn't you answer to any of our emails or phone calls? When I went to try to see you at the hospital… They told me you refused to see anyone but the Net Police psychologist. Tell me, Zarashe! Why? Why did you try to erase us after that incident in November?" Netto asked.

"It's tormenting him. No matter how much the psychologist tried to insist that he wasn't himself and that he was under the effects of a brainwashing he always yelled that he was doomed and that you'd hate him until he died. He's slowly been shutting himself off and barely speaks to anyone. The reason he's coursed 1st grade in Kyoto is the same one: he wants to avoid all contact with you guys." Beta X sighed.

"He doesn't talk to you?" Saito asked.

"No. He was all cocky and cool yet after that he shattered. Nothing impresses him anymore. I tried to have him see some videos of games filled with action or good storytelling yet he'd end up closing YouTube because he didn't feel any emotion. He spends most of the time with the school text-books and studying. He sacrifices sleep time to over-study things. He got perfect grades, yet… He looks like he's never satisfied with anything. He barely eats, either." Beta X detailed.

"And why did he come here, then, if he wanted to avoid us?"

"His uncle pressured him. He strictly told him it was useless to submit to something without having at least tried it once. And he was convinced that you'd forgive him."

"Of course! I forgave him that very same day when I learned he'd been brainwashed. He wasn't himself! Zarashe! Snap outta it! You're our classmate, the B Class classmate! Say something! You can't try to make it look like we don't exist. Everyone was worried about you!" Netto replied as he gestured to try to get his attention.

"You heard them, Wan – kun! Say "hello" at the very least! Remember what your uncle said! He has had ample experience in life! Come on! You're not like Snake: you aren't suffering PSTD! You only superficially hurt him! It's not like you've killed your father!" Beta X snapped at him as if trying to provoke him.

Zarashe kept silent and looking at the ground: Agent Karasu stood nearby and seemed to be thinking of something.

"Ah. I remember him! He shot you in the right shoulder, Mr. Netto, so we had to reduce him with tranquilizer rounds… Chief Lezareno had told me the circumstances, true… Look, sir… Shooting someone always takes a toll on someone. Be it a rookie or a veteran… It's another story with tranquilizer rounds because you only put them to sleep… And it's not like you inflicted a life-threatening wound, either, sir!" Agent Karasu tried to speak with him.

"See? Snap outta it, Wan – kun!" Beta X rallied.

He merely remained in the same pose without moving at all: Beta X sighed and brought his right hand's fingers to his forehead.

"Zarashe… Remember! You were very skilled at Net Battles and could even defeat Guts Man with just a standard Navi! You and I were the champions of Net Battles! You could predict most common tactics and you even drove me and Rock Man into one or two tight spots back in 5th grade! And even in 6th grade, too!" Netto told him.

"Do you want to disappoint your uncle, Wan – kun? He's been taking care of you and this is how you're going to reply to his advice? He's worried about you, too! He's your family, Wan – kun!"

"Come on!" Saito rallied.

"Zarashe – kun! We missed you!"

"Yeah! We need ya to jam the brakes into Gorilla Man!"

"That's Zarashe? Hadn't the guy moved?"

"Ya really didn't listen back in November, huh?"

"Yikes! Sorry, Meiru!"

"Zarashe – kun! It's me, Hikawa Tooru! Don't you remember me? You were always seated at my left!"

"He's a classmate?"

"So he's Zarashe…"

"And he's Beta X…"

Meiru, Yaito, Dekao, Tooru, Obihiro, Hiro and Delta joined the conversation but Zarashe acted like they weren't there to begin with: he just kept on looking at the ground.

"Look, Zarashe! Have you tried to become a civilian Net Battler and take on the exams?" Netto asked.

"He did and got as far as the "S" License. But that was because I dragged him along." Beta X sighed.

"Oi! Zarashe! No matter what happens or where you go to… We're friends! Classmates! Companions!" Netto insisted.

He placed both hands atop his shoulders and Zarashe actually looked up: he displayed surprise on his eyes and he began to articulate something but was seemingly having trouble coming up with the words.

"… Hikari – kun…?" He slowly asked.

"What did I say? Isn't this proof enough? Come! I treat you to an ice-cream! Ya liked vanilla, right? Do you remember Higure – san? Ya gotta have a look at his Rare Chips!" Netto grinned.

"See, Wan – kun?" Beta X smiled.

"Beta X…"

"Hey. Be glad I haven't gotten annoyed like Snake when he noticed Campbell and Naomi hiding things from him back when the Shadow Moses Incident!" Beta X grinned.

"Ya guys are into MGS, too? I'm a big fan myself!"

"Ahem, ahem. Mr. General Director is about to attack Ms. Ofelia with Visigoth fury."

They all gasped but then spotted Mr. Denpa walking towards them and chuckling: he sported smoked sunglasses.

"L-Liquid Ocelot….!" Zarashe gasped.

"The real one!" Beta X gasped.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry. No, no! I'm a big fan of MGS, too, but my name is Mr. Denpa! Don't you remember when you were spying on Akashi – kun when he fought Net Navi Drill Man? I detected you and used a gun to bathe you in sand… Sorry for that but at least it wasn't a bee hive." Mr. Denpa explained with a smile.

"… Oh. I remember… Bee hive…? The Virtuous Mission…? Well… Guess I should be glad of it, true… I managed to shower it off somehow yet I then had to cleanse the whole apartment… I ended up blown up that day from using both the broom and the mop." Zarashe formed a weak smile.

"O. K.! Next stop: the ice – cream shop!"

"Agent Karasu. You may return. I'll handle things over here."

"Yes, sir! Roger, sir!"

"Oh! Let me introduce ya… That guy over there is Obihiro Shun – kun: a brilliant programmer!"

"Please…" Obihiro scratched the back of his head.

"N-nice to meet you…" Zarashe timidly replied.

"Let's go! The Akihara Squad is on the move!"

13:02 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Man! This house really needed some maintenance. It's so full of dust, really! Hmmm? Weird. These papers look cleanser than the rest of the desk and so does the laptop…"

Vadous (dressed in a black suit, sporting a black tie and brown shoes plus blue contacts) was rummaging around his house's study and frowning as he checked the papers.

"Hmmm…" He sounded suspicious.

He engaged the laptop and brought up some info: he gasped and seemed to be thinking about it.

"There's a register of being turned on a few days ago… And I haven't come here for months! Someone was here… Keitai Denwa! Mr. Denpa let me know about the encounter with the guy…! Yet nothing seems to be missing and the logs show that it was only turned on for a period of less than one hour… Hmm…" He muttered.

He sat on the chair and examined some of the print-outs which obviously looked cleanser than others.

"He's been looking at my print-outs, the jerk… Mr. Denpa did tell me he looked like wishing information, so… I see. He must've mirrored my HDD into a pirate server somewhere to read it in a leisure manner without having to open my computer. But I didn't write anything about what the "solution" really is yet he will most likely form a plausible approximate idea… Yet… How did the guy get past all of my security? Ah. He could've staged for a blackout given how this house is the only one being occupied in this neighborhood. Bothersome meddling jerk!" He deduced before letting out a curse.

His cell-phone suddenly rang so he took it out of the chest pocket and checked the number.

"Oosaka prefix…? Colonel Botos…? Hmmm… Let's answer to it: something must've surfaced. Maybe we have a lead about Keitai Denwa's whereabouts, even!"

He answered to the call and brought the cell-phone close to his ear as he distractedly tapped the edge of the desk.

"Mr. Sponsor? I hope I am not bothering you." A man with a slight foreign accent asked.

"No, Colonel Botos. Do we have a hint regarding Keitai Denwa?"

"Not exactly… I do believe I have found someone of greater importance here, in Oosaka."

"Someone of greater importance…?"

"You see… I went off for a walk on the seaside avenue yesterday evening and I happened to spot a man mumbling aloud: I caught a hold of his words and they surprised me. He referred to Mr. Kir Osh as "_ani-ue-sama_", he knew about Dr. Lartes and called Mr. Sponsor "Cousin" yet it'd seem he uses that title as an honorific because he admits having no direct blood connection. He mentioned the "Ice Queen" as well…"

"W-what in the…?" Vadous gasped.

"But I don't know his name. All I know is that he looked close to his mid-20s and he described himself as someone who liked being in the backstage and not stepping forward. I tried to trail him but he noticed and shook me off somehow." Colonel Botos added.

"A third one…!"

"Third?"

"… I once met a second one. He called himself Twilight and used the title _daimaou_… He'd transformed into a Net Navi and he showed up inside of my HQ to try to destroy me yet I ended up defeating him by bouncing his attack back at him. And now there's a third one…! Anaya Maria…! You lowlife… You didn't have enough, did you?" He cursed.

"I see… Yet… The whole thing makes me remember…"

"Solid, Liquid and Solidus Snake! Right? _Shachou_~?"

"Oh. Not you too."

Omega had suddenly shown up on the SE corner of the PC's desktop and looked amused as he folded his arms.

"Omega… When will you know to not to make these unannounced entrances into systems? Where are Blood and Sigma?"

"Well! Brad Shad and Stigma Man are in the middle of a _Mario Kart Wii_ tournament with some online buddies! So they're busy enough by now, see! _Shachou_~! Are ya Solid Snake, then? That Twilight guy was Liquid and Solidus has gotta be this third guy." Omega laughed.

"Come on… As far as I know, that Solidus guy was the President of Ameroupe in one of the games and then he staged a terrorist incident somewhere… I don't think that guy fits with the character."

"Ya never know, _shachou_~!"

"Anyway! Please keep me informed, Colonel Botos, if similar developments were to happen. And, Omega! I have a mission for you today: try to detect if the HDD data was copied somewhere and access that server. Keitai Denwa has had to been there more than one time and maybe he was arrogant enough to not to be careful enough when it came to erasing his trails. Get it?" Vadous commanded.

"Yessir! Yo! Drebin! Lemme borrow your vehicle. We're going to break through their defense lines! _Rock 'n roll_! Let's stage a disco party for Rocky and Roll in which the situation will turn around 180º!"

"OMEGA~!" Vadous roared.

"Ops. I spoke too much."

"How many trillion times do I need to say it? That isn't funny! Now go before I lock you up in the HQ's server! Move your muscles!"

"Yessir! Samba Man: action! Yahoo~!"

Omega rushed out of the computer while Vadous fumed.

"That guy…! Whatever! I hope we can have a quieter summer compared to last year's one!" He grumbled.

13:11 PM (Japan Time)…

PLOP!

THUD!

"Heh, heh, heh! It was so easy… Piece of a cake! How the mighty have fallen, eh, you jerk? Ya always looked down on me like I was a piece of junk… And ya only cared about keeping all the laundered money for yourself and shaking off any internal investigations by generously bribing the inspectors… "Rule Number 11: betrayal or sabotage of our grand plan from the inside is punishable with death!" … I only followed the rules ya guys laid out 40 years ago! Don't blame me: blame your idiotic behavior and your bosses! Heh, heh, heh! Now… That fortune will be useful: I can travel around the world with it and have fun! Heh, heh, heh! And the police will quickly believe this was a break-in with murder given how I cared to make a mess of the apartment!"

Keitai Denwa was looming over a desk filled with papers, fountain pens, a laptop and a glass filled with remains of a martini: a dead man could be spotted laying face-up on the ground and being still sitting on a red armchair: he looked on his 60s, was half-bald, wore a suit and now had a bullet hole in the middle of the forehead.

"Good… Let's pick the papers, computer and check this guy's safe. I'll later examine to see how much money these guys will be losing but I'll dare say they'll suffer more "cuts" than any government department! We're in the midst of a financial crisis, ya know!" He laughed.

He pocketed the Makarov pistol and began to toss all papers inside of a backpack along with the laptop and its charger: he then spotted the bookcase and examined the rows of books until he found a fake row hiding the safe: it was not totally closed, either: h picked the folders and stored them too before running off the apartment and slowly shutting the door closed behind him.

_I'm a genius! I'll deposit this money in portions and then… To Jawaii we go! Take that, you bunch of jerks! You treated me like a mere piece of junk, so this is my payback! Mwa, hah, hah, hah!_

13:15 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Man. Paperwork, paperwork and even more paperwork… I want a Navi to run berserk and put the guy down! I'm fed up with this. Does a VP really need to do such paperwork or is someone skipping their duties? When I find the jerk, then…!"

"Enzan – sama, sir… It would not be wise to get nervous, sir. I could investigate the matter, sir."

"Investigate it with a magnifying glass as if ya were Sherlock Holmes, ya mean?"

"Oh. Not that guy again."

"Laika – sama… You had me come here just to bother them, sir? Where is the logic on that, sir?"

"Don't worry, Search Man! He likes it behind that mask."

"I don't, Laika! Go back to Siberia!"

Enzan had been grumbling inside of his VP office and Blues had offered to investigate when Search Man showed up inside of the PC and Laika joked while having a smug smile on his face.

"My, my! Then hear this one up, Ijuuin. Those two Navis are still loose and could be formidable opponents. Interested?"

"What? Death Shadow's accomplices? Count me in! Where are they? How strong are they?"

"The rest is up to ya, Holmes. Let's go, Search Man! Plug Out!"

"But, sir!"

Search Man was plugged out and the connection ceased: Enzan stood up in a brusque manner and growled.

"That guy, this guy and that other guy…! I'll remember this!" He menaced aloud.

"Enzan – sama… What a catastrophe, really." Blues sighed.

13:29 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Man! I feel so depressed… I can't believe it… Death was beaten and now it's back to us two. Things were way more interesting with him given how we actually had to teach him some concepts."

"I know. And I lack energies to go and do club stuff, too. I dunno what we can do. Maybe after we return we could try to come up with a new strategy like taking over a club or something."

"Or, rather… Becoming regular customers, I'd say. Taking over would mean a lot of useless paperwork. I'm not the type for that. We could bide out time by trying to build something… Or… Wait! Planet Omicron! We could go back there: the planet is already stained with a lot of "Omicron Factor" and we could continue the research there by using Viruses! We could try to improve and refine from where Death left!"

"Brilliant! So, what are waiting for? Let's go search for the device and return to our age! And maybe we can use that old spacecraft's remains somehow, too, apart from the facility's equipment!"

Kurayami and Kanaya had been sitting inside of a rather unlit room which looked like the abandoned laboratory given the tall and wide capsule-like devices which had several pipes connected to then and some deposits with the "radioactive" and "poisonous" labels stuck into them: they had started by sounding depressed but Kurayami suddenly stood up with a grin followed by Kanaya.

"Good! I remember the coordinates. We should use secondary routes to avoid detection, too. Heh, heh, heh… If you guys though this is over, then you're wrong. Nothing will change in this era, but our deeds will be recorded and stored somewhere by the time we return to our era. Heh, heh, heh. Get ready!" Kurayami laughed.

"Tee, heh, heh. If you guys look down on me, then I'll bring about the biggest beat-up you've ever experienced. Laugh and fool around while you still can!" Kanaya laughed next.

Both laughed and made the "thumbs-up" sign to each other…

14:08 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh. The preparations for my "departure" are almost complete by now. Too bad, Cousin! You won't be able to get a hold of me but I will leave you with a little memento. I've left a message for Mr. Keitai in which I said I'd be out of contact given how I will be travelling to complete some businesses. Our cooperation was only meant to be temporary, after all. I supplied the info. That's all. Cousin must have noticed by now about the hacking incident but even if he finds the server, he'll only find Mr. Keitai's downloads."

Kanou Shade was packaging clothes and his laptop into a black wheeled suitcase while glancing at some notes in a paper placed on a small desk next to the suitcase: he'd taken off the trench coat, hat and sunglasses and only wore his suit.

"Mr. Hikari Jr. and Mr. Hikari Sr. won't get to know about me and they most likely won't about Cousin Twilight, either, unlike the _place_ I _came from_. Ah… Cousin Twilight… Or should I say… Cousin Yoru Yami? Heh, heh, heh. You can't fool a member of the "Demon Tribe" we three are! You did well in fooling Cousin Vadous because he cannot picture the concept both of us have utilized. I shall become your shadow. I will be glued to your trail. And I will see what you've come up with while I was "touring" around _this place_ for a little while… Knowing you, Cousin Yami, you have something running and working by now. Which I will boycott…" He muttered with some amusement to his voice and while forming a grin.

He closed the suitcase and began to cleanse the apartment using a handkerchief on each piece of furniture: he then searched his trench coat and took out an envelope with the note "To Mr. Admin" written on it yet it looked bulky.

"Let's drop this on the mailbox and be on our way. The sooner we leave, the sooner I can catch up with Cousin Yami. I will not make my presence stand out yet you will eventually realize I am following your hot trails again, Cousin Yami… Farewell!"

He laughed aloud in a victorious tone of voice…

20:45 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Phew! Well! Zarashe is slowly returning to his old self. He's going to think it over if he keeps living in Kyoto or comes back here. Oh! And we should try to get to know the new guy in B Class, too. What was his name again, Saito – niisan?"

"Tomono Noa – kun! His Navi is a highly customized model named Rafael, I'd heard. They're good at Net Battles, too!"

"Heh! Then one day we gotta see what stuff they're made of. I'd rather say from thin air."

"Hah, hah. Very funny. Do you want me to try out our new technique tonight?"

"Eh… No, no. I take it back."

Netto and Saito had changed into their pajamas and were seemingly getting ready to sleep: Netto was joking and Saito formed a sinister smile as he loomed closer to Netto: he lifted his hands and showed his palms as if defending himself: Saito backed up and kept that smile on his face while Netto began to sweat.

"And we'll have the chance to let Papa see how the "Vadous Soul" works on the field. He'll run up the walls out of excitement and won't stop until he's read each and every line of coding." Saito grinned.

"Eh… That's good, yeah. And could ya stop making that smile, Saito – niisan? It gives me the creeps, really!" Netto protested.

Saito suddenly took two steps forward and lifted the pajama shirt around the stomach area to then start tickling it: Netto laughed and fell atop the bed while Saito crouched next to it and kept at it.

"I'd say this summer vacation will be cool."

"S-sure… And stop t-tickling me, please!"

Saito merely grinned while Netto tried to hold his laughter back…

**THE END**


End file.
